


A path we choose

by LeighJ



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Flirting, Babysitting, Bad Flirting, Banter, Bare back fucking, Bath, Bath Sex, Bathing/Washing, Bathroom Sex, Best Friends, Beth Greene Sings, Bethyl smut, Birth Control, Boxers, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Clit Rubbing, Clit teasing, Cockhead rubbing, Cockhead teasing, Come Marking, Come Shot, Come as Lube, Comedy, Comeplay, Communication, Condoms, Confessions, Consensual, Consent, Counter Sex, Crush at First Sight, Crushes, Cunnilingus, Dancing, Daryl Dixon & Beth Greene Friendship, Daryl Dixon & Rick Grimes Friendship, Daryl Dixon Smut, Daryl Dixon and Beth Greene Reunion, Daryl Dixon in Love, Daryl Dixon is a Softie, Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene Fluff, Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene Smut, Dating, Deep talk, Developing Relationship, Dirty Dancing, Dirty Talk, Dirty Thoughts, Drunk Dialing, Drunk Texting, Drunken Kissing, Enthusiastic Consent, Eventual Smut, Explicit Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Secrets, Fingerfucking, First Crush, First Dates, First Kiss, First Meetings, First Time for Everything Fest, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, French Kissing, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Fucking on the sofa, Growing Up, Growing Up Together, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Heavy Petting, Holidays, Hot n Heavy, House Hunting, Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, In Public, Inner Dialogue, Kinda period sex, Kissing, Leaving Home, Lust, Making Out, Meeting Family, Memories, Moving Out, Multiple Orgasms, Mutual Masturbation, Naked Female Clothed Male, Neck Kissing, Nipple Licking, Nipple Play, Nipples, Nudity, Older Man/Younger Woman, Oral Sex, Orgasm, Orgasm Control, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Beth Greene, Partial Nudity, Penis In Vagina Sex, Period talk, Pre-Cum, Protection, Public Nudity, Religion, Reunions, Romance, Rough Kissing, Rough Sex, STD checks, Safe Sane and Consensual, Scars, Secret Crush, Secrets, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Sex clinic, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Sexual exploration, Shopping, Shopping Malls, Showers, Simultaneous Orgasm, Singing, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smut, Strip Tease, Stripping, Surprise Kissing, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change, Talking, Teasing, Teen Crush, Texting, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unsafe Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Wet & Messy, Work In Progress, bethyl, church, fucking on the counter, leaving the nest, lust drunk, mentions of period sex, mutual pleasure, nipple sucking, orgasmic, period, pleasure - Freeform, safe sex, wet pussy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2019-09-18 05:36:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 45,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16989033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeighJ/pseuds/LeighJ
Summary: Beth Greene is back from college, travels and the pivotal years of adventure that have shaped her into a new woman. Back to her small town, her parents farm and her old flame...Beth thinks she's done all the growing she can, experienced it all but then she's reunited with her teenage crush and she realises she still has a lot of learning to go.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> So I've been writing APWC for some time now, all the way back to when I was still posting Shattered Memories, I think. I'm finally at a point in it that I know exactly how it's going to end, and my path to getting there.
> 
> I hope you all love this, as you have always loved my previous pieces. I can't wait to hear your opinion and if you're stoked enough, I might just drop the second chapter tonight... ;)

Who knew the descent to eight o’clock could be so traumatic?

Beth Greene didn’t, that’s for damn sure. It’s nearly six and by eight she’s expected at a party. Not just _a_ party but a Halloween party, a dress up one and if all that wasn’t enough to have her pulling her hair out, it’s the first party she would have attended since she moved back home to Georgia. She’s been away for a couple of years for college at the University of Southern California, and then travel but now a new graduate, she’s back in her small, familiar home town. Smack bang in the middle of the holidays too. Old friends have been reaching out, each wanting something or other from her: a coffee, a dance, a lunch date. In so far she’s managed to ignore them all.

It’s not that she’s being spiteful or that she’s a loner. She’s actually a very active person, a social butterfly her Mama calls her but since coming back from college she feels like a new woman. All her life she’s been _good_. She was raised on a farm, a simple life and in turn she became a simple girl. If anything, she became good by default, by sheer necessity. There was no reason to sneak out and party because she truly enjoyed spending time with her parents. There was no need to drink because she had seen the troubles it caused her parents marriage when her Daddy hit the bottle.

There was no need to shop on weekends because she would only ruin nice clothes in the mucky stables anyway or catch them on branches when she was flying through trees on her horse. There was no need for money or nice clothes or parties. It’s not like she couldn’t ask her parents for it if she really wanted. If anything, she could ask her parents for whatever she felt like asking for because she so rarely asked for anything in her life. She was a happy child, a happy teen and just _happy._ Her older sister Maggie and the oldest of three, was the troubled child, the one who came home at three am, the one her parents screamed at and grounded and punished.

Maggie’s a full grown woman now with a husband and child, but she wasn’t at one point. She was the devil child according to her Mama and Beth never wanted to have her parents worry for her the way they did her sister. She never wanted to see the disappointment her Daddy speared her older sister with either. Beth’s sure to this day she would break under a look like that from her Father but not Maggie. She’s the toughest woman Beth’s ever met and she was the one who convinced Beth to go to college. Reminiscing, Beth crosses the street towards the shopping centre, the cool air teasing at her jumper.

Seeing young girls milling around in their friendship groups makes her smile. Remembering what it’s like to be that young, where her life was going at that age. She remembers it wasn’t something she was considering: going away to college. She thought about taking classes at a community college instead so she could still live at home, still see her friends, help out on the farm. Surprisingly, her parents insisted. There was no fear for her the way there was for Maggie, and her middle child brother Shawn who had inherent wild streaks her parents couldn’t force out of them with groundings or manual labour.

The thing is, Beth truly found herself in college. She found that wild streak buried so deep inside her. A love for beer pong and shots, a hit or two of weed if she was brave enough. Never hard drugs, they weren’t her bag. She was down for a good time not a hospital visit. Steadily she got braver, bolder and more adventurous. When college was over she packed up her things and went travelling. It was something she had always wanted to do but never thought she would, and never in the manner that she did it in. Hostels full of wild students and hippies around a fire. Hitch hiking with dodgy strangers and rough women. Some nights spent on beaches where she passed out drunk.

Some nights spent with boys and men alike who showed her a good time and how to pleasure her body in ways she had never been brave enough to try before. All that fun, all that adventure, swallowing up five amazing years of her life. Five years that she started as an eighteen year old farm girl and emerged from as a twenty three year old woman. Now she’s back home. Back walking downtown, back in her child hood house with her walls covered in bands she used to listen to, diaries she used to fill and CD’s that accompany the posters plastering her walls and door. Being home is good, it is, but being home as another person is nerve wracking like her skin is pulled on too tight.

The only invite of the many that she’s responded to is Rick and Lori’s. Rick and Lori are family friends on her Mama’s side and when she was seventeen they used to let her babysit for them. They’re an attractive couple living in an attractive home and the sort of neighbourhood that says _I made it._ Real wood and nice cars, kids on bikes and open front doors in the summer heat because it’s the kind of neighbourhood that doesn’t get burgled, not to mention Rick’s a cop. They’re lovely but Beth is more excited to see their kids. When she was seventeen nearly seven years ago, their oldest boy Carl was twelve and their only daughter Judith a new born. 

She stopped babysitting them when she went away to college so the last time she saw them Carl was thirteen and Judith one. Being nearly seven years from that point Beth is more than a little excited to see a nineteen year old Carl who is home from college himself and a seven year old Judith. Passing by a little mobile shop, she looks amongst the gadgets, debating buying one and if it’s worth the money, her blue eyes tracking the shelves. When she was travelling she didn’t take a phone with her. Went old school in terms of using pay phones and a camera.

All her friends who she was travelling with at the time had phones but she never checked in with anyone, never used any social media. She fell off the map and it was amazing. Did something to her soul that was peaceful and healing. In the exploration of herself she found a way of life she wanted to live. She wanted to watch the sun rise, she wanted to walk bare foot among the flowers, to be free and open. It’s a little depressing being back in society, trying to integrate into it again. The smell of pollution and rubbish bags, not the salt of the sea or the crisp air high on a mountain.

The sounds of angry car horns blaring and shouting voices, not birds and animals calling her awake. It’s not all bad though and she had to come back sometime, put the bachelor in music composition she worked so hard for to use. A job is a pressing concern for Monday. Right now she’s enjoying a Saturday of shopping and iced coffee in a busy mall on a cool October day. A bunch of key notes are pounding inside her head, leaving her clenching her Starbucks with the need to find something to write them down before she loses the rhythm. She forces herself to focus so she can get the things she needs and get out of here.

Problem is, shopping is still not something she’s big on, regardless of how much she’s changed since high school. Even still, spending money is fun and fortunately for Beth, she has a lot to spend. Not needing anything most of the time led to her putting money away. Birthday, Easter, Christmas; babysitting. Her parents are religious and therefore they’re more about sharing love and laughter than presents, but as the youngest child and the only one left at one point, Beth knows she was a little bit spoilt. On her eighteenth birthday they presented her with a bank account they opened when she was born.

It was after her decision to go to college and she cried her eyes out when she calculated that the sums would be enough to pay all her living expenses and have some left after. Her actual college tuition was covered by a scholarship from her hard earned straight A grades so even after travelling, she’s now got a net of security until she finds a job. She’s lucky, she knows she is. Most of her friends are paying off their education, working three jobs and struggling. It makes her feel almost guilty suddenly to be stood enjoying herself, eyes flicking from which shop to enter and instead to the frazzled girls behind the counters. Beth’s always been like this. Her Mama calls her emphatic because she feels the world’s emotions.

_A blessing and a curse, Bethy._

Shaking the unexpected guilt away, she bins her now finished coffee, suddenly remembering the time. The worst part is she still needs to get home and get ready, not to mention get to Rick and Lori’s on time. Fashionably late maybe? Except she’s always punctual and it’ll grind on her nerves being late. Damn. She hasn’t found the corset she’s been looking for all day. Her plans tonight were to go as an angel but with one half of her costume still eluding her, she’s wondering if her time keeping will survive a costume change. Probably not. So what does she do? Lifting her eyes, she finds her answer.

Ann Summers. She flushes just looking at the store front. She’s gotten bolder, yeah, but only bold enough to browse online on her old, battered laptop. She thinks about turning away, that she’s not brave enough, especially alone, when she sees it. The corset she wants is right _there,_ to the left of the open door. It shows a lot more skin than the one she was originally after and has a lot more sex appeal but of course that’s because it’s lingerie. Oh God, what is she thinking? She can’t go to Rick and Lori’s in _that_ , in front of nineteen year old Carl, the boy she used to babysit! But she really is running out of time.

A glance at the clock in the mall tells her she’s got an hour and forty five minutes. In that strip of time she needs to get home, shower, get dressed and drive over to Rick and Lori’s house. Biting on her lip, she weighs her situation against her morals and promptly chucks her morals out the window. The heat in her cheeks is embarrassing in and on itself as she enters the store, leaving her in a vicious cycle of a hot face. The A/C is on full blast though, which feels amazing on her skin despite the cool winds outside the mall. The short days of October is turning her skin back to its usual pale complexion, though some of her golden tan is hanging on.

When she caught her reflection in the mirror earlier, she noticed how shockingly blonde she had gone while travelling. Just a month prior and the blue of her eyes looked grown, like she had seen things, experienced things. It’s a nice change since she’s always looked several years younger than her real age so she’s a little sad to watch it fade. The moment she’s in the store she grabs the corset and hurries for the counter. She refuses to look at the price tag. Having and spending money doesn’t mean she’s got over her squeamishness towards expensive items. That simple farm girl held on somewhere. Even in her haste to make it to the counter, her eye is caught by a pretty baby blue lace set.

Chewing on her lip, she looks around conspicuously like someone is going to condemn her on the spot for just looking. Other shoppers are looking at far racier things though and this emboldens her to stroke her fingers over the lace edges. _I want it,_ Beth thinks immediately. Refusing to make eye contact with anyone, she rifles through until she finds her size and then turns to ring up her purchases until she’s side tracked. Again. Lube. Different flavours, textures. She’s used lube with guys but never herself and she wonders if it would be better, if her fingers would glide just right.

The thoughts forming in her mind make her flush deeper and she’s painfully aware of time ticking away. Snatching one blindly, she hurtles for the counter and smacks straight into an oncoming chest made up of brick and mortar by the feel of it. Her items go flying and she stumbles, caught only by the large hand catching hers and tugging her. The hold on her hand is painfully tight to ensure she doesn’t fall on her ass and stretches the joints of all her fingers but when she looks up to apologise in a frenzy of embarrassment, she freezes, forgetting about the pain in her hand as it grows numb.

“Beth?” The guy asks curiously.

“Daryl,” she breathes in answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I've loved your enthusiasm for this so here I am with the second chapter! 
> 
> I forgot to say in the last chapter but a massive thank you to Wallflow3r who beta'ed the last chapter and this one. Her insights always ensure my works are the best they can be and I'm so grateful. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

Daryl Dixon.

The man she spent the better part of her teenage years fantasising about, both between the sheets and out of them. Sometimes she would imagine what it would be like to get down and dirty with him and sometimes she would imagine what it was like to just be around him, just hanging out. He’s Rick’s long-time friend and that’s the only reason she met the guy. He was around their house a lot when they were heading out and she was babysitting. Man, he’s still as gorgeous as ever. Daryl’s not one of those drop dead stunning hunks who are perfect and clean cut, who makes women want to fall over themselves getting his picture. Even still, there’s something about him that makes her look twice, that makes her stop.

Beth’s always preferred men who draw her eyes back, men who intrigue her and leave her wanting more, compared to someone who steals her attention for a mere moment. She’s always been drawn to the unknown and she’s more than a little superstitious for it. Daryl is one big unknown full of layers and hidden depths she would love to have the pleasure of exploring. He’s still dark haired and bulky, though he has more corded muscle now. Also, his hair is longer, brushing his chin and there’s threads of grey in his beard. God, it really has been _seven_ years hasn’t it? She almost forgot about the subject of her high school erotic dreams. 

“Hey, d’you drop summat?” Daryl’s voice pops her straight out of her haze, his blue eyes dim in the store.

Beth’s cheeks flame immediately as she looks to the floor and finds her items. Considering she got lube, a pantie set _and_ a corset, she must look like she’s set out for some big date where she plans to end it real damn lucky.

“Er, ye- no. _No_ , I was just… pickin’ those up for a friend!” Beth stammers. “Anyway, _Daryl,_ hey! How have you been? It’s been what? Seven years?” She asks quickly as she bends down and scrabbles for her things.

Daryl watches her with an amused half smile, eyes zeroing in on the lube she tucks against her chest. “Yeah, somethin’ like that. Ain’t seen you since you were a kid, Greene. How you been?”

“I wasn’t a _kid_ ,” she says a little too vehemently. “I was seventeen.”

“An’ I was thirty five,” Daryl answers with a tilt of his mouth.

Beth winces internally. “Yeah, I guess you were.”

The longer she looks at him: at his strong cheekbones and firm jaw, the more she remembers how obsessed she used to be with the guy. To run into him now, at nearly twenty four brings back all the fantasies she’s ever had of him and produces whole new ones her seventeen year old self could never have managed. Except in her day dreams she never anticipated the awkward tension of their age difference coming up or the fact that she would be holding lube in her hands. Jesus, why do things like this always happen to _her?_ The silence stretches and she clears her throat, glancing down at the fluffy handcuffs in Daryl’s clasped fist.

She ignores the fact that the light dusting of hair on the back of his hand makes her forehead grow damp. “What you got there?” She indicates the handcuffs with a smile. “I never had you down for a fifty shades kinda guy.”

“You’d be surprised,” he quips.

Beth catches her lower lip between her teeth at the flare of heat in belly. Jesus Christ.

He chuckles at her face. “Naw, these are for tonight. Rick an’ Lori are havin’ this Halloween party an’ they put me up t' findin’ the prize for best dressed.”

The grip on her items tightens as she swallows. “Oh, I guess I’ll see you there then.”

Daryl’s brow raises. “They invite you? Didn’t mention it.”

“Why would they?” She asks in a breathless rush.

Has he been keeping tabs on her? No, that’s ridiculous. But still…

Daryl shrugs. “No reason. Hey, I gotta get movin’. See you there?”

Beth nods a little numbly. “Yeah, see you there.”

He hesitates before he bends and presses a kiss to her cheek. “Nice to see you, Greene. You look good.” 

When he rushes out the store she turns to the counter in a daze, floating on cloud nine.

* * *

Floating on cloud nine she is not when she only just manages to make it home by seven thirty. Everything’s a panicked, dazed rush as she jots down her musical musings in an illegible scrawl, showers and gets dressed, before destroying her room with glitter. Putting on the corset was equal parts pleasing and terrifying. Like squeezing herself into a size zero and Beth’s not got much meat on her anyway. The pleasure she got out of it was finally seeing it all in place, accentuating a cleavage she doesn’t really have for one and making her feel a lot closer to her age than her face portrays her to be.

Knowing Daryl’s going to be at the party makes her feel like she’s being provocative, as if she’s decided to show all her skin just for him. It’s far too late for a costume change though, she has absolutely nothing else despite devoting a rushed five minutes to sourcing something. It’s not like she attended many Halloween parties while travelling and her still unpacked suitcase bursts open with shorts and tanks. When she hurries down the stairs she flies past her Mama who raises her eyebrow at Beth’s clothing but says nothing about it. It makes Beth feel a little better that she doesn’t look too outrageous that her Mother has to step in.

The same can’t be said for her Daddy though. “Bethy, are you going to wear a jacket with that?”

In the hallway mirror she quickly takes herself in. White corset moulding to her golden skin and she has to admit the contrasting colours are stunning. Her blonde hair is teased high and falls in curls that she hopes gives her the angelic look she’s going for. Silver glitter paints her lips, collar bones and the dip between her peeking cleavage. White jeans stick to her thighs and she doesn’t check out her ass in them because her Father’s watching, but she did earlier and she knows its firm and round despite her donut addiction, probably because of it, come to think of it.

“Should I?” She asks her Daddy as she begins to re-think her appearance even though she knows it will ruin the whole outfit.

Her Daddy: Hershel Greene is a fine man and she trusts his opinion maybe more than her own Mother’s. His lips open to say something but her Mama interrupts by laying a soft hand on her Daddy’s shoulder. “No honey, you look lovely. Go, have fun. Be careful.”

Beth smiles giddily. "Thanks, Mama an' thanks for lettin' me loan the car," she says as she quickly takes the keys off the rack on the wall. Just before she bounds out of the door, small clutch in hand, she throws over her shoulder, "goodnight!"

Slowed a little by her heels, she manages a slippery run out to the car. Once she’s in she checks her make-up in the rear view mirror one last time before she turns the key and pulls out of the drive.

“Here goes nothin’,” she mutters to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guysss. 
> 
> I'm so excited by your response to this and I've been desperate to update, so here I am.
> 
> It's so bloody cold and wet outside, I can't wait to be warmed up by your comments! They always make me smile beyond belief so keep 'em coming!

When Beth pulls into Rick and Lori’s packed street, she has to spare a smile for the décor. She loves Halloween and always marvels at exquisitely designed pumpkins, and the effort people go to with reels of cotton to create faux spider webs. Reaching into the back seat, she grabs the plastic bag she’s kept back there for this very reason. When she gets out the car the night is heavy with the scent of mouth-watering candy apples and the sound of giggling children, leaving her feeling like she’s stepped straight into a fairy tale. Pulling the plastic open, she reaches in for the lace wings and slips them over her shoulders, completing her angel costume. With the plastic disposed of and the car locked behind her, she takes in the scenery.

The stars are twinkling and so are the fairy lights wrapped around the porch deck. Beth gives them another smile as she heads up to the open door, glancing inside at the milling people and bowls of over flowing candy on the sideboard. The air is cold and gives her goose bumps but the amount of bodies inside blanket her with a warmth that heats her instantly.

She’s not more than halfway into the house, gawking at the updated picture frames and glowing lanterns when Carl finds her. “Beth!”

Glancing away from a photograph of a smiling brunette girl that she’s sure is Judith, she finds a towering hunk of muscle and a toothy grin complete with floppy brown hair and his Daddy’s blue eyes. “Oh my God, _Carl?_ ”

"Hey! Look at you!” She leans in for a hug as he pulls her in and she’s enveloped in such a masculine smell she’s grinning when they pull away. “You look amazin’,” Carl compliments and Beth flushes.

It only just now dawns on her that Carl turned nineteen two months ago and she’s due to turn twenty four in less than three weeks. There’s only a five year age gap, one Carl seems to have accepted as he pins her with keen, interested eyes. She laughs nervously, suddenly conscious of all her bare skin. Damn this corset. Pulling out of his embrace, she cringes a little. Carl is as much like a brother to her as Shawn is, two people she has very great bonds with. She’s always been easier around the guys because a simple life leads to lack of lady etiquette and she’s not exactly the salad and wine kind of girl. To have Carl, the kid she got excited over comic books with hitting on her is a little disturbing.

“You too,” she answers quickly. “But I still see the gawky little kid in there Carl Grimes.”

Carl winces and Beth glances away, her eyes finding Lori. “Oh, look! S’your Mama, let’s say hi!”

Reluctantly, he lets her drag him by the arm to the circle of Lori and her friends. When Beth gets closer she sees a little girl at Lori's side and she breaks into a toothy grin. “Is that little Judy!?”

Lori looks up and beams with lips thinner than Beth remembers. “Beth! You made it!”

“’Course I did!” Beth answers enthusiastically, releasing Carl to hug his Mama. “Lori, you look amazin’!”

“Oh please,” Lori snorts, eyes rimmed with black charcoal playful as she flicks at her hair. “This grey is not part of the costume, honey.”

Beth laughs and glances down at Judith who is pretty in pink, her little eyelids painted a sparkly purple, clearly dressed as a fairy judging by her light up wand and wings. In stark contrast to Lori, who’s dressed as a witch and has the fake mole to sell it.

“Hello, beautiful. Look how big you got!”

Judith giggles nervously, clenching the puffy skirt of her dress. “Hello.”

Lori smiles at her daughter’s timid response. “She doesn’t remember you very well.”

“Aw, that’s okay, you were jus’ a baby when I looked after you,” Beth smiles as she bends at the knees to cluck her under her chin. Judith grins in response. “But now you’re a little beauty, ain’t you?”

“Is that little Miss Beth Greene?” A voice hoots and she stands to look over at Rick approaching her.

“Rick!” She laughs as he drags her into a hug and puts her down with a spinning head. “You’re getting old!” She exclaims as she takes in the grey slowly swallowing his brown hair and beard.

Rick laughs and nudges into her. “Hey, I ain’t retirin’ yet. Can still ‘rrest you.”

“Yes, Sir!” She teases with a salute. “What’re you even dressed as?”

Rick raises an eyebrow and gestures to his police uniform. “A rookie!”

Beth snorts. “That was bad, Grimes. Real bad.”

Carl and Lori chuckle in exact reflection of each other, proving where Carl seems to have got his dirty laugh from. They both accept when Rick offers the beers he's holding.

“Hey now,” Beth interjects, faux indignant. “I believe you’re servin’ a minor alcohol, Mr Grimes and neglectin’ the adults in this situation too.”

Rick laughs, clinking his bottle with Lori. “Don’t tell him, but it’s so he feels tough.”

“Dad!” Carl splutters, nearly choking on his beer.

Lori takes a swig of her own beer before she points it at Beth. “You’re a little hottie, no wonder my boy’s been crabbin’ after you.”

“Mom!” Carl shouts again, face going red at the same time Beth mutters, “oh, come off it,” smothering an embarrassed smile.

“Why’d I even bother comin’ home when you guys keep pickin’ on me?” Carl mutters, throwing daggers at his parents.

“C'mon, Son,” Rick laughs as Lori throws Beth a pointed look, wrapping his arm over Carl’s shoulder. “Your Mother's about to embarrass the crap outta you. Why don’t you go pump Judy fulla candy?”

Judith squeals and takes Carl’s hand. “I wanna candy apple!”

Carl sighs good naturedly, throwing Beth an apologetic look as if he’s ditching her before he leaves with Judith.

Beth looks back at Lori after watching them leave. “Still as mean as I remember.”

Lori snorts, nudging her in the ribs. “I do like makin' Carl flustered but, truly, you look great, Beth. Travellin’ did you a world of good, huh?” She smiles.

Beth nods, a little dazed as she remembers the quiet mornings, the beautiful sights. “Yeah, it really did.”

The group gets a little quiet and Beth looks up at the new member. Daryl has joined them and a smirk of amusement settles on her face when she sees he’s dressed as a demon. Red pants with a fake tail mould his thick thighs and a tank covered in fake blood stretches over his biceps, so thin it teases at a tattoo on his peck. A headband of horns are nestled in his wild hair and his hand is wrapped around a beer bottle. Beth’s eyes catch with his and she feels the connection of his blue pools like a spark through the bloodstream.

She barely manages to nod her head to the beer as she asks, “Where can I get one’a those? These terrible hosts have been neglectin’ me.”

Daryl smiles with sparkling blue eyes that take her breath away, especially when those eyes roam over her corset and tight jeans. Beth swallows nervously, her palms growing damper the longer he so obviously checks her out.

After a moment, he tips his head to the kitchen and when his eyes catch hers she feels them cut straight through her. “Follow me.”

She catches Lori’s amused glance at Rick before she turns to follow him, her eyes locked onto the sway of his fake tail and the ripple of muscles in his back. When they reach the kitchen he doesn’t go for the cans on the side but pushes through the mass of bodies to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle the same as his.

Beth smiles in thanks as he cracks it and passes it over. “S’colder,” Daryl explains.

She laughs and takes a sip, sighing in satisfaction at the smooth, cool liquid in the mass body heat of the room. “Thank you.”

He dips his head, eyes sparkling even more under the kitchen lights and maybe with a little bit of alcoholic influence too. “No problem.” After his own swig he nods his head back where they came. “Crushed the boy’s heart out there.”

Beth laughs in disbelief, nearly spilling her beer down herself. “You heard that? I didn’t see you hangin’ ‘round.”

“I’m good at stayin’ hidden,” he smirks.

As Beth observes him, nestled into the corner between the fridge and the wall, she’s inclined to agree with him. The fridge is still positioned in the far side of the kitchen alcove all these years later, separated by the breakfast bar and it feels like just the two of them here. The back door is open behind her but even the chatter is slightly muted.

"So you were spyin’ on me?” She teases with her lips at the neck of the bottle.

Daryl shrugs good naturedly. “Jus’ checkin’ out your costume.” When she raises her brow he laughs. “Y’know, for the competition. Gotta pick a winner.”

“I see,” Beth says mock seriously with a stern face. “Strictly business.”

“Well,” Daryl murmurs before he takes a swig. “Might’a been a littl’ personal.”

Her skin flares hot and suddenly she remembers how much of it is bare and on display. She raises the beer bottle to her lips again, hiding a smile. “An’ how’d your girlfriend feel ‘bout that?”

“Don’t have one,” he answers with bright, enigmatic eyes.

“Ah, shame.”

_Yeah, right._

“Yeah, you look real torn up ‘bout it,” he answers with a half smile.

The excitement that _Daryl Dixon_ is flirting with her makes her feel a little more drunk than just her three prior swigs of beer could handle. In her wildest dreams she never thought he would take a second look at her. Well, quite honestly he did a lot more than that in her wildest dreams… Beth rubs her lips together nervously, sprinkling glitter over herself and it leads her to notice it on the lip of her beer bottle. An image flashes through her mind of glitter in a sticky ring around the base of Daryl’s cock. It develops like a film reel, flashes of tantalising picture that leaves the back of her neck damp.

Her down on her knees. His hand in her hair. Pulling. Thrusting. Coming. She coughs out of nowhere, her throat closing as she chokes on air. Daryl pushes off from the wall as if to help her but she gulps down a quarter of beer and rides through it. Wow, real sexy Beth. When her throat stops spasming, she pulls the bottle away from her slick mouth to smile shakily.

“You good?” Daryl smiles softly although his eyes are laughing.

Beth does laugh, mostly in embarrassment as she coughs once more for good measure. “Yeah, sorry, real gross.”

“Ain’t nothin’ grosser than Rick an’ Lori neckin’ on each other when they’re drunk. Horny fuckers.”

Beth barks a surprised laugh as she follows his gaze through to the open arch way where the couple are kissing heatedly. Not two seconds later they break apart, Lori giggling as Rick grabs her hand and drags her away.

Beth shudders a little. “Least they’re gettin’ some, right?”

“You ain’t gettin’ none?” Daryl breathes in her ear.

A gasp catches in her throat. He must have silently eased up behind her and now she can feel all his hulking muscle against her back. His hot breath keeps ghosting her neck, her nipples tightening painfully and rapidly under her corset.

She clears her throat. “S’none of your business, I don’t think.”

Daryl breathes softly before he pulls away. “M’jus messin’, didn’t mean to upset you, Greene.”

When she glances over her shoulder at him he’s got a playful expression but bright eyes and they tell her he doesn’t want to come on aggressively. Though she feels a pull to him that makes her want to stand and flirt with him all night.

Music starts up behind her and she licks her lips at the tangy, lust filled air. “Come dance with me.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and I hope you all have a beautiful new year. Thank you for all your wonderful kudos, bookmarks and comments, they really do keep inspiring me! 
> 
> Thank you to wallflow3r who beta'ed this chapter!

The music that was playing before was a sound track of squeaking floorboards and howling ghouls. Now as kids start to head upstairs, the lights get dimmer and the music more suggestive. Lori and Rick are still missing and Beth shares a smile with Daryl as she drags him in to the living room. He grins back at her, his eyes wicked in the darkness and teeth obscenely white. Beth’s heart is rabbiting out of her chest as she contemplates her next move. She knew she wanted to be pressed against him and she took charge on that action but now she’s floundering a little.

Daryl takes up the dropped baton of her confidence and guides her, his large hands swallowing her hips as he turns her so that her back is to his chest. Beth’s eyes flicker around wildly, wondering if anyone feels that they’re doing something wrong, him being so much older than her. There are no questioning glances their way though and she settles into his body, folds into all his hard edges, his hand tucking her costume wings to the side so they don’t poke him in the face. His chest is broad and spans the width of her shoulders, swallowing her up so tightly into him she shudders. The song is one she doesn’t know but has a sexy edge to it.

Couples all around her are swaying their hips and grinding their asses, hair and inhibitions loose now that all their kids are out of their sight. She dismisses distant and loose thoughts when Daryl’s fingers drag her hips back into his. Beth’s breath catches in her throat and she raises her arm to loop around his neck, her eager fingers burying in his wild hair.

Daryl hums and it vibrates against her cheek. “You’re a tease, Greene.”

“Oh?” She smiles into the darkness as she swirls her hips. “Why’s that?”

That same giddy, almost hysteric excitement bubbles in her stomach again that this is _Daryl._ When does someones crush ever just bloom into their life? When does anyone get that kind of exhilarating feeling of butterflies in their stomach? Knowing that the person who they devoted hours of thought to is actually _interested?_ It’s maddening and intoxicating, floating her in a haze of flirtatious happiness.

“Y’know,” he rumbles against her throat where his prickly mouth brushes her skin.

“‘Fraid I don’t,” she teases. “You’re gonna have to enlighten me.”

He releases a rich, throaty chuckle that feels like warm oil trickling all over her shoulder and she rolls her hips into her full body shudder. Daryl’s laugh becomes a groan as her ass connects with his groin and the whole atmosphere changes. With the dizzying excitement comes the sharp tang of lust, blossoming on her skin and on his breath, tickling her ear and stirring her hair. Her nipples tighten under the corset and Daryl’s rough hands drag over her fabric covered belly, his fingers teasing at the hooks that just barely contain her.

Beth’s breathing picks up and Daryl’s does too, bursting hot and fast against her throat when he whispers, “ _‘_ Cause’a _that._ ”

Her teeth sink down into her bottom lip and her eyes flutter, unable to bear catching anyone’s gaze and have them knowing what’s happening between her legs right now. No man has ever plucked so harshly at the strings of lust in her pussy and Daryl’s just playing them like a fucking guitar. The room is so hot her hair is sticking to her skin and on her next hip roll she sucks in a shaking breath. Daryl’s fingers are digging into her hip, slipping into the tiny gap between her corset and jeans. Where her flesh meets his she’s unbearably sensitive and she just wants to roll on her back like a dog and let him stoke his hand all down her skin.

She still hasn’t worked out anything to say and instead she turns her head into his shoulder, trapping his face against her throat. The scent of him is dizzyingly erotic, something completely new she’s never found before. Outdoors and leather, smoke and furs. He’s like the comfort of a cabin in the soft lull of the woods. All she wants to do as she greedily inhales his scent is curl up under heavy blankets naked and frolic on butter soft sheets. Her mind is still spinning with fantasies and they’re more than heightened when Daryl’s lips part to breathe through her hair. The wet moisture of his mouth is the most erotic thing she’s ever experienced.

Daryl’s hands grow tighter and when he thrusts against her ass the moan she’s been holding bursts forth, riding past her lips like a freight train. He growls and tears his body away from hers. Before Beth can even gasp in surprise, he takes her hand and begins to drag her away. “Come with me.” 

“Hey! Where you off to?” Rick asks as he comes swanning back in with Lori.

Beth’s already hot face flushes deeper and she squeezes Daryl’s hand. “Jus’ outside for some air.”

“That’s gonna have to wait ‘cause we gotta give best dressed out. Daryl, you pick someone?” Lori asks with keen eyes on their clasped hands.

Beth smiles softly and slowly releases Daryl’s hand. Looks like they’re not making it outside or wherever the hell they were heading. Jesus, she’s acting like a horny teenager again.

“Right,” Daryl laughs, his cheeks hot like hers but voice firm like he’s brushing it off. “Lemme erm,” he clears his hoarse throat and then continues, “grab our beers. Left ‘em in the kitchen.”

He hurries past and Rick follows, leaving Beth with Lori’s knowing eyes. “You an’ Daryl…”

“No!” She says quickly.

Lori’s smile stretches, her hands raising in mock surrender. “Hey ain’t none’a my business what you guys get up to.”

Beth shuffles nervously on her feet. “Really?”

The other woman laughs and pulls her in with her arm around Beth’s shoulders. “Let me guess, you’re thinkin’ you shouldn’t hook up with a guy twice your age?”

A nervous flush swallows her whole. “We weren’t gonna-” At Lori’s raised eyebrow Beth rolls her eyes. “Okay, maybe a little.”

The smile on the older woman’s face twitches into a smirk. “You always did have a thing for him.”

Horror grips her so deftly she sways on her feet. “I was that obvious?”

Lori’s smile becomes a full on laugh and suddenly Rick and Daryl are back. “What’s so funny?” Rick asks.

Daryl offers her back her discarded beer and she takes it quickly, gulping it down as Lori answers, “Beth thought she wasn’t obvious.”

Rick snorts and Daryl frowns. “M’I missin’ summat?”

“Nothin’!” Beth splutters past her beer. “Go! Announce the winner!”

When he’s been successfully shoved away despite his suspicious glance back at her, one where their eyes connect and that heat sets her on fire again, she glares at Rick and Lori. “We’ll talk later you pair.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Rick snickers around a gulp of beer.

Beth smacks him but she barely hears him because she’s too enraptured by Daryl’s promising smirk and then his tight ass walking away from her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shouldn't be updating early but that's the story of my life at this rate. Definitely keep the absolutely amazing comments coming guys! And thanks for beta'ing wallflow3r.

As Daryl presses through the mass of bodies to the front of the living room, Rick hits the lights so that they all flick on. The voices quiet and Daryl smiles almost apologetically. “Hey y’all, jus’ wanted t’ call out winna of th’ bes’ dressed competition.” 

There’s excited murmurs and swapped guesses as to who’s going to win but Beth is too lost in Daryl’s appearance to really listen to it. He’s gorgeous, putting it simply. Rough around the edges and all sorts of mysterious that makes her hot around the collar. Such powerful blue eyes, even from how far back she’s stood. Considering the years he’s got on her, his body is deliciously in shape. Broad chest and shoulders, large hands and thick thighs. He makes her think of all kinds of dirty, naughty things that she wouldn’t dare try with someone a little bit slimmer, a little bit shorter. He just has this air of a man who knows what he’s doing, who knows how a woman wants it.

That appeals to Beth and she’s not too certain why. She’s never had a particular type when it comes to men. She’s always been more mindful of souls, of personality and who she connects with. It worked very well for her on her travels, coming across people of different backgrounds, shapes and sizes. Now she’s been plopped back into the middle of civilisation and her usual small town setting, it feels like she should have a type. She doesn’t but whatever it is she finds attractive, Daryl Dixon is ticking all the boxes. The chemistry with him is… wow, something unreal, something she’s never experienced before.

Than in itself is intoxicating. She’s always looking for an adventure, an experience; a story to tell. Daryl looks at her with a twitching beard threaded with grey and eyes the colour of her favourite pond back on the farm, and she’s promised an experience she’ll never forget. A standing moment in time crafted just for her.

Lost in his eyes, it’s a while before she realises the whole room is looking at her. She flushes under their scrutiny, wondering if they heard her thoughts when Lori nudges her and she stumbles forward. “Tha’s you, Beth.” 

“Huh?” She asks in a daze, stepping even further forward until Daryl can take her hand.

“Congratulations, you want your prize now?” Daryl grins before he swigs his beer.

There’s a light smattering of applause for her as Daryl turns to the drawer behind him at her nod. When he turns back to face her, he passes along the handcuffs she saw him with earlier today in the mall.

Flushing at the memory, she laughs nervously at him and then the others in the room. “Thanks, but I think there’s better costumes in here than me,” she mumbles.

Rick steps forward with a smirk. “You’re right, Beth. I mean, Daryl is rockin’ that tail an’ since he’s the other half to your costume, it should be a joint present.”

Not understanding where this is going, she mutters, “joint present?”

Rick takes the open handcuff and flicks it on her wrist. She gasps, not having enough time to pull away before he takes Daryl’s free hand and clicks both sides into place. 

“Rick Grimes, you lemme outta these things right now!” She demands when she realises how squashed together her and Daryl are. 

Rick laughs and raises his hands in mock surrender. “No can do. Daryl’s got the keys.”

When Daryl laughs at this Beth turns the full force of her glare on him. “You in on this then?”

“Naw,” he replies with another swig of his beer. “But I can’t complain’ ‘bout gettin’ closer to you, Greene,” he finishes in a whisper she’s sure only she can hear.

The comment reminds her of not ten minutes ago when they were dancing, her ass pressed into his rising cock and all the heart pounding excitement that flooded her system. That same excitement lifts her chest with the breath that escapes her and she doesn’t miss Daryl’s smirk, even if he does try to hide it behind the lip of his bottle.

“Our winners everybody!” Lori suddenly calls, wrapping her arm around Beth’s shoulders and presenting them as a pair.

Beth laughs, lifting hers and Daryl’s joined wrists and the hand holding her beer, just for the sake of it. There’s some cat calls and she flushes even more, the heat riding up the back of her neck. Turning to Daryl, she cocks her head to the kitchen, “wanna get some air?”

“Sure,” he responds and good naturedly follows after her as she begins to pick her way out of the living room and through to the kitchen.

From the kitchen they exit into the garden which is empty now because of the prize reveal. They struggle to manoeuvre themselves through the one open door and Beth has to step down first for Daryl to follow.

He laughs when she huffs and she narrows her eyes at him again.  “Y’know, you don’t need handcuffs to get me close to you,” she whispers, on the edge of flirtation.

Daryl’s eyes are bright and playful as he flicks a little piece on the side of his handcuff and it pops open. “Oh no?”

Beth gapes and looks down at the handcuff now dangling off her wrist. “Doesn’t even have keys. M’gonna kill Rick,” she mutters as she takes the cuff off and stuffs them in her clutch.

Snorting, Daryl reaches into his back pocket as he puts his empty beer bottle down on the edge of the table. She follows suit, laying her clutch down next to it. “You smoke?”

She shakes her head before she finishes off her own beer, watching curiously as he produces a pack of cigarettes. When he flips the top there’s a lighter nestled in there with three loose white sticks of death, one of which he plucks with his thumb and finger. In the light she can make out how clean his fingernails are.

It prompts her to ask, “So, what’d you do? Work wise?”

He flicks her an amused glance as he slides the cigarette between his lightly parted lips and puts the pack on the table. “What’d you think I do?”

Beth shrugs, watching as he cups the side with one hand and uses the other to light the end of the stick. It glows cherry red when he glances up at her. “No idea. S’why I asked.”

“Well, what’d you do?” He rumbles on a cloud of smoke.

“I don’t,” she answers automatically. “I mean, I don’t do anythin’ right now. Y’know I just got back into town.” 

“Are you lookin’ for somethin’?” His voice seems genuinely interested and it ropes her into continuing to speak.

“Yeah, I mean, I got a bachelor in music, so I wanna put that to use." She smiles loosely at him when he whistles under his breath, a little sense of pride bubbling in her as she begins tearing at the sticker on her bottle. “I wanna write scores but just lookin’ for somethin' to fill out my resume for now. Anyway, I told you mine.” She looks at him pointedly.

He dips his chin in acknowledgement. “M'jus workin' construction. Long hours. Cold as fuck or hot as fuck, early mornin's, s'jus work. Pays the bills."

Beth nods, still peeling her bottle label at the corners. “I'm still kinda settlin’ in again, hopefully get used to everyday life while I look for a job. I really liked travellin, miss it a bit.”

“Travellin’ liked you,” Daryl comments after a drag on his rapidly shrinking cigarette.

Beth tips her brow and smiles in confusion. “What’s that mean?”

“You’re kinda a whole new person. Girl I knew was quiet, shy. Woman I met today is shoppin’ in Ann Summers an’ rockin’ up with sinful skin in a damn corset.”

Beth is speechless, her sticky lips peeling apart as her fingers still against the glass bottle in her hand. Daryl stares at her hard, cigarette clenched between his teeth as his eyes roam her heaving chest.

Goose bumps pebble on her arms and she finally manages to whisper, “that why you’re interested in me now. Not before?”

He frowns and asks, “What’d you mean?”

She laughs lightly. “You knew I had a crush on you, right? Rick an’ Lori told you?” She gathered they had, if she was obvious as they accused.

He takes a drag on his cigarette and then clutches it between his fingers again, his eyes pinned to hers and carrying a sparkling edge of interest. “They ain’t never told me nothin’.”

Beth blushes with startled embarrassment. “Oh.”

After a pause he laughs and she goes back to picking the sticky residue of her beer bottle label, littering bits on the garden floor. “You had a crush on me?”

Sighing, she places the bottle down and slides one hand into her hair nervously. “Well, _yeah._ You were just…”

At her floundering Daryl takes a hearty drag. “What?”

“I dunno,” she breathes in a rush as her mind spins. “This big, strong _man_ an’ I used to see you playin’ with Judith an’ rough housin’ with Carl an’ I just thought…” she pauses, pulling on the hair at the nape of her neck, beneath her curls. “I just thought you were the whole package.”

Daryl finishes the cigarette and drops it into his beer bottle where it sizzles. “An’ now what?” He asks, his eyes hot and keen in the dark. “You still think I’m the whole package?”

He advances on her and she angles herself backwards, knocking into the side of the house, breathless from the brick wall and him coming closer. “I-I dunno, I’ve barely seen you ‘nough yet to k-”

Beth falters at the way he bends his neck to her, his breath on her lips and face so close, excitement pounding through her and her legs weak with want. His whole body is curved into hers, legs pressed together and hips too. She’s shorter than him, head coming to his collar bones and it sends a thrill through her. Maybe tall guys are her type or maybe everything about Daryl Dixon is her type. From his piercing eyes to his bulging bicep as he stretches a hand above her head on the wall, her eyes focused on his mouth.

“How’re you feelin’ right now, Greene? Here, with me?” He asks with a voice full of grit and dark, hot need.

Beth swallows shakily, a heartbeat between her thighs. “You make me feel hot. Bothered. Needy.” The minute she speaks she blushes and just because she realises it in that second she adds, “You make me feel bold.”

The smile that graces his mouth is beautiful and takes her breath away, as does said mouth pressing against hers. His breath is a butterfly soft whisper against her lips, “you make me feel bold too, Greene.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearly at the fun stuff guys!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where I'm writing in front, I've hit the dreaded writers block and I'm so excited to share this chapter, that I just thought, why not? Can't wait to see your responses, and then hopefully I'll be inspired enough to keep writing! 
> 
> Thanks for beta'ing wallflow3r.

When Daryl’s mouth presses to hers its hot and hard, lips scalding. Beth moans instantly, all his heat enveloping her body, protecting her from the soft winds at the front, and her wings scantily protecting her at the back. His hand reaches up to cup her jaw, his fingers so wide on her skin she feels like he could just wrap her up and put her in his pocket. His other hand is on her hip, digging into the space between her corset and jeans so he can touch her bare waist, burning her there too. They pull away for air and Beth takes the moment to press her fingers into his bottom lip, lean up and lick into his mouth because the taste of him is a whirlwind.

He groans and reaches down to squeeze her ass cheeks, dragging her up so their hips bump and grind, his hardness pressing into her. “This okay?”

Beth chokes against his mouth, nodding and delirious at the thought of him being so excited by _her._ Her tongue digs in to his mouth again and slides against his as she rolls her hips hard and slow. He mumbles something against her cheek but she can’t hear anything except white noise when his mouth finds her pulse. Lips peeled back, his teeth rake against her throat, tearing into her thundering pulse and then soothing it with his tongue. He stays there for a moment, moaning lowly every time the shock wave of her pulse booms against his taste buds. She wriggles desperately, her skin burning white hot and itching with desire, her jeans damp with sweat and need. Hands on his shoulders, they tug and twist at his wife beater, moving down and around to push it up his stomach.

Now she can touch his bare skin and ride them up to his pecs, digging her nails in like talons and scratching deep. Daryl groans again and bends his neck to find the tops of her breasts, driving her head back with the width of his own. He presses big, wet kisses to her flesh and then sucks it up into blissful bites with an edge of pain. Beth’s fingernails run back up to, and hook into, his shoulders, her head lolling as her fake lashes flicker, turning the stars on and off. They’re flush against each other, bones aching with the strain. With all their excited kisses, she’s strained herself forward, but now he slams her back into the brick wall again, forcing the air from her lungs violently.

“God,” he spits against her skin, his mouth trailing up to her shoulder to bite and suckle. “ _God_ , you taste so fuckin’ good.”

Light blooms like popped paint balloons against the backs of her eyelids, sapphire and sharp. Her head thumps back against the wall, rocking with the music that flares back to roaring life in the living room. Conversation and light washes over her as people move into the kitchen, and she whimpers when her brain makes her pay attention.

“Daryl, people are comin’,” she mumbles with a thick tongue.

“I want you to come,” he growls back, directly in her ear. “In my mouth.”

“ _Jesus_ ,” she hisses brokenly, her cunt throbbing as much as her head.

His hands squeeze in the boned edge of her corset, pulling violently so her body jerks against the bricks of Rick and Lori's house. “Can I take this off?”

“Here?” She squeaks, glancing wildly around the dark back yard. “We’re in public.”

“I know. Shit, sorry,” he pulls back and glances at her, his eyes wild and shrunken.

Desire throbs through every single part of her, heart rabbiting wildly. She’s officially lost to it because she whispers, “take it off.”

He stares for a moment, licking his lips as he seizes the material again. When the clasps don’t give he takes either side or the fabric and _yanks_. It splits and tears, the metal clasps screaming in protest and breaking, pinging against the concrete like gun shots.

“Daryl!” Beth gasps with eyes wide in shock, trailing the torn fabric and her newly bared skin. “I only just brought it...” she mutters without any real heat, her back protected from the cold house bricks by her costume wings.

He presses his face against her throat eagerly, nuzzling like he can’t get enough of her. “You got good taste. Can’t wait to see the rest of your collection.”

“Ain’t got a collection,” she breathes, angling her head so he can press his lips harder. Thinking of the one new piece she brought today, she then realises she should have answered with, _who says you get to see my collection?_

“We’ll fix that. Go shoppin’,” he mutters as he bends to her bare breasts and takes a nipple in his mouth.

Beth can’t even cry out the pleasure is so stark and the thought of Daryl picking out pantie sets with her, going into the changing rooms to try them on, sneaking into the same cubicle, letting him see… it has her biting her bottom lip and squeezing her eyes shut.

“Fuck!”

A rough hand reaches upwards, chasing her collar bones, riding her throat and then finding her mouth, cutting off her ragged panting as it gets louder. His mouth leaves the bud he was sucking, stinging and swollen in the cool night air. It’s still damp with Daryl’s saliva and there’s a trail from one breast to the other. Leaving one bud and eagerly descending upon the second one, he sucks greedily there too, teeth nipping and tugging until her hips jerk sharply into his. He groans, the vibration threading through her veins before he straightens up and tugs at the waist band of her jeans. The rough, tattered knuckles of his hand brush against her bare belly and she shudders.

Daryl notices and smiles crookedly, trailing them further down to the top of her mound, nuzzling her jeans open. “Can I?”

She pants into the palm of his hand, her eyes drooped with lust as she churns her hips for his touch, answering with her body. Her panties are thin and soaked, moulding to her with stickiness and something flickers in his gaze when he finds them.

“That all for me?” He whispers with a voice of sin.

Beth’s eyelashes flutter as she nods weakly, her body surrendered to him completely as he continues to nuzzle. His knuckles press into her clit and her knees jerk, a whimper escaping between the gaps in his fingers.

Daryl groans softly and pushes aside her slick panties to find her soaked slit. “Tell me what you like,” he whispers with heat. “Teach me how to touch you.”

Beth’s so astounded for a second all she can do is look at him. A feverish brightness sparks in his pupils as they blow wide open like two drops of spilt ink on white parchment. Splotches of colour like the ones in her face and splashed across her chest fill into his cheekbones, seizing the half mad look and bringing it to life.

When he moves his hand from her mouth, resting it on her jaw, she takes the opportunity to try and speak, but doesn’t do it very well. “I-I,” she stutters for a moment. “I like, er-"

“S’okay, girl, you can ask. You can always ask.”

Beth flushes, keening desperately when his fingers unfurl in the tight confides of her panties. There’s no space for them and the rough pads of his fingers dig into her clit. Her knees are shaking uncontrollably now, no longer periodic spasms but full out shudders. Changing his angle, he slants down and his fingers glide in her wetness deliciously slow, pressing right to the bottom where she’s leaking juices.

“This what you want, huh?” He murmurs to help her out probably, his eyes focused and his hand intent.

Nodding desperately, she can’t believe she’s doing this with _Daryl Dixon,_ against the side of Rick and Lori's house. Jesus. “Right there. _Please._ ”

Beth rolls her hips to make room and spreads her legs as much as she can with his knees pressing into them. Just with that small adjustment Daryl’s fingers catch and she screeches so loud he quickly puts his hand back on her mouth, cutting her air completely as his last two fingers smother her nose.

“M’not hurtin’ y’, am I?” His voice ghosts on the wind and she shakes her head quickly, eyes wide and body pulsing.

He smiles as he parts her damp walls like a hot knife through butter and she melts just as easily, her eyes rolling in her skull as he stretches her deliciously with his thick fingers. He falls into her with a groan, his cock rock hard where it presses into her thigh. Beth searches blindly and finds it, palming him light and slow like how he’s stretching her.

Rolling his hips into her touch, his breathing is ragged and ruined in her ear. “ _Jesus._ ‘Magine if’tha was my cock inside you.”

Her cunt clamps down on his next thrust and he laughs deep and low, her hand slack with delirium now. Daryl’s fingers press deeper and then faster, retreating and thrusting, driving into her with a single minded purpose. Beth trembles and sobs, her walls pulling in tighter and tighter, her stomach a nest of snakes and sweat swelling upon her skin. The band snaps and she lets out a string of mumbled words, feverish with her orgasm as it swells and breaks, gushing hot over Daryl’s fingers and soaking her panties further still. She falls slack upon the wall and is more than grateful when Daryl catches her with his hands on her hips, her corset falling with a thump to the floor and baring her upper half completely.

In the light from the kitchen window, where music and voices are still spilling out, she can see glitter smeared across his lips and she laughs. He laughs back at her even if he doesn’t know the joke, swept up in the high they’ve created as much as her. Taking a deep breath, Beth reaches up and wipes it away with her thumb.

He lets her clean him up before he pulls away and picks up her fallen corset, reaching to take her hand at the same time. “Come on.”

“I can’t go anywhere, Daryl, I’m topless,” she whispers with more calm than being topless should have any right to have.

“I got my jacket. Just hold that ‘gainst your chest and stay behind me,” he instructs as he pops open the back gate and disappears into the darkness.

Beth does as she’s told but dashes back to grab her clutch before following him. By the time she meets him in the corpse of trees lining Rick and Lori’s drive, Daryl’s already got his jacket. It’s supple leather and too big for her but it’s warm when she takes her wings off her shoulders and puts it on over her jeans, zips it up and folds it over herself.

Daryl takes the corset and the wings from her clasp, throwing both items into the open car door. When he shuts it, locks it and turns back to Beth with a wolfish grin, he sees her raised eyebrow. “I wanna memento. I didn’ ask, but... d’you wanna come back to mine?”

She laughs and lets him take her hand. “Think that’s pretty obvious. Lead the way Mr Dixon.”

“Okay,” he rumbles quietly. “Had a drink so we’re walkin’. Ain’t far though.”

Nodding, she presses herself closer to his side. “Best get started then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO pumped to see your comments!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday, guys! 
> 
> A massive thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Moonshine Awards. Because of you awesome people I've been nominated in a few categories for some of my favourite pieces to write: Shattered Memories, Run and Wild Love. Well done to everyone else who was nominated, especially wallflow3r who killed it! 
> 
> Thank you additionally to wallflow3r for beta'ing this chapter.

The walk back to Daryl’s place is silent but perfumed with sex and want. The tension is so breathless that Beth’s fingers keep clenching around his. Innocent as it is, when he squeezes back it burns in her belly like he’s licked a line straight through her slit. She _wants_ him. She’s always wanted him, from an innocent crush to adult need and desire. She can’t lie and pretend she’s thought after him consistently, mooned after him so to speak, but he’s popped up in her thoughts now and then, at one point or another. Now it’s actually _happening_ and she feels like she’s walked into a dream.

Into a fantasy she's made up for herself, stumbling after him in only his jacket and her jeans, all her bare skin covered beneath. The fabric smells like Daryl and it’s so big the collar curves across her cheekbones, her nose buried in the smell of him. Something that speaks of woods in the quiet of dusk and leather cracked from years of wear and tear. It smells heady and intoxicating like everything about him wrapped around her shoulders. They arrive upon his house in a sudden motion that leaves her head rocking. She can scarcely remember the walk here, just the excitement and the hand squeezes.

It’s a modest little grove full of trees and thick bushes, the night air alive with the _ding dong_ of trick or treaters ringing on stranger’s door bells for candy. Beth hopes no one will come calling because she plans to be too indisposed to get the door and Daryl really doesn’t look like the kind of guy who stocks candy. He pats his pant pockets for his keys, releasing her hand in the process but his empty pockets thud dully. She panics for a moment but then he reaches over to her and pats at his jacket pocket. She blushes when his hand brushes against the underside of her breast. He glances up at her with a small smile that tells her he knows exactly what he’s doing.

She cocks her brow at him as he finds his keys and turns to the door. The sound of his key sliding into the lock is like a gunshot through the air. It sends her heart racing and her blood pumps hot and fast around her body. The door creaks open at his soft push and it's dark inside but he steps in first and flicks the light. It smells completely like Daryl the minute she crosses the threshold. Like trees and grass and sun. Outdoors. Freedom. Together they make their way inside and Beth shuts the door so she can follow him. The door opens straight into the living room with the stairs curling off to the right hand side. Her eyes glance there and then up into the mysterious, hidden upstairs.

Daryl drops his keys in the bowl on the coffee table and then takes a step into the open plan kitchen. “You wanna beer?”

“Nah, thanks,” she declines politely, sliding off her heels and bending to arrange them neatly, throwing her clutch beside them.

She smiles as she turns back to him and finds him watching her with heated eyes. Allowing it a little longer, she takes her time looking around. There’s no pictures in here of him and family. No faces or memories like her parents’ house have. There’s some artistic pieces, things she didn’t expect from him and yet don’t surprise her. The walls are bare and beige all around apart from the one wall covered in his choice art. She would love to get her hands on these walls and her paints. Painting has always been a hobby of hers and she can think of a thousand things to paint on these blank canvases, things she thinks Daryl might even like.

When she’s done with her inspection, trailing her hand over the black leather L suite, she turns back to face him. He’s still watching her, leaning against the breakfast bar and sipping on his beer. Beth approaches him silently, watching his pupils shrink with each step that carries her nearer. Standing right before him, she leans in as if she means to kiss him. Daryl’s eyes fall to her glittering lips hungrily. Successfully distracted, Beth steals his beer right out of his hand and takes a gulp while he gapes at her.

Pulling her lips away, she hands it back and hops onto the counter above him with a grin. “Thanks.”

“Minx,” he growls under his breath with simmering heat, pointedly placing his beer bottle on the counter at her hip.

Beth’s heart flutters, the grin sticking to her face as he stands and slides between her legs, his palms running up from her knees to her thighs. She bites her lip as her skin tingles with a breath taking rush, her hands reaching out to touch his firm chest and rub his thick biceps. Daryl growls and loops his arm around her waist, dragging her across the counter. Jeans squeaking with a sound of protest, she laughs with arousal and happiness, her fingers clutching at his elbows and her thumbs smoothing over the pulse point in the crook. He smiles at her crookedly before he takes her mouth. She moans into the kiss, her hands riding his chest again to grip one shoulder and his hair.

His own hands make themselves busy, one sliding up under his jacket hanging off her frame and the other one curving around her thigh, bringing it up around his waist. Beth grinds against him breathlessly, his tongue tangling with hers. Between her legs is a riot of sparks, excitement plucking like guitar strings through her veins. If she listens hard enough she can hear a beat in it, a unique rhythm created by what he does to her body. Music is her life and she hears it in everything she does, feels and sees it deep in her heart. The chorus of their song builds in her gut and flows between her legs like a hand sliding against piano keys.

Each one plucking at her arousal and driving her from one key note to the next. It’s the high note she wants to hear, the crescendo she wants to feel in her bloodstream. She growls with frustration, that one note eluding her and her body reaching for it. Her fingernails dig into the back of Daryl’s neck and drive his head down to her throat. He attacks the skin there, rocking her head back so hard her eyes fly closed as a cry escapes her throat. Everywhere his mouth touches leaves tingles, goose bumps awakening all down her left side where his lips are. His teeth follow his tongue and he teases at a bite, lightly testing the strength of her skin before it splits.

Her eyes are rolling in her head but she still fumbles for the zipper of his jacket that she’s wearing. Daryl’s house is boiling hot and with the addition of his hands and mouth all over her, the whole network of her skin is burning. When she locates the tiny piece of metal she yanks it with all the force she can, riding the metal teeth all the way down. The two pieces of leather fall apart and land with a _slap_ on the counter. The thing was so big on her it just slides right off, pooling at her wrists. Daryl pulls back to look, his eyes so wild they’re almost frightening in their intensity.

She's never been looked at like this, never been _wanted_ like this and it’s nearly overwhelming, that and how much older he is than her. Except none of that matters when he dives towards her collar bones, ravishing them with kisses as he trails further down. Her spine bows under his attack and she’s helpless but to fall back with it onto her elbows when he takes her nipple in his mouth. Head flopping back, she groans to the ceiling, grateful for even the small protection his jacket provides to her elbows, wiggling it off her wrists.

He pulls away only for a moment to glance up at her. “This turn you on?”

Beth nods vigorously, too embarrassed to make the words. _God, yes_. _An’ I love that you keep asking me what I like._ Her thighs are still riding high on his hips and his cock is rock hard between her legs. She rolls her hips against him desperately, riding with the pleasure he’s evoking with his mouth. When he’s soaked one nipple and left it swollen, he moves right on to the other one. Beth presses into this one, filling his mouth with her small breast. The heat encasing all her sensitive flesh makes her breath hitch. He growls against her skin and thrusts between her legs, leaving her spinning with the stars on the back of her eyelids. God he really _wants_ her. It’s such an intoxicating feeling, just as good or if not better than an orgasm because it doesn't _end_.

“Daryl,” she whispers, just for something to express the sensations in her body.

He releases her nipple with a wet pop and lays his cheek against her sternum, cupping her breast. “Mmm. I like that you got sensitive ones.”

She laughs softly. “Ain’t never been sensitive before. Think s'that beard you got.”

He rubs at it absently with his free hand before he turns mischievous eyes up at her. “Wonder where else's gonna be sensitive ‘en.”

“Daryl...” She mumbles warningly.

“ _Beth_ ,” he mocks playfully back at her as his prickly jaw begins to drag down her ribs.

The laugh that bursts out of her at his playfulness distracts her for the moment but it isn’t long before his prickles runs over her soft belly. Her breath hitches in her throat, her head rocking on her neck to watch as his hand trails down her hip at the same time, stroking along her waist line. She twitches as all his touches border on ticklish, her mouth dry as a bone. Excitement steals her voice and she can only watch as adrenaline shoots through her veins. His thumb finds her jean button and pops it like it’s nothing, like it’s not the only sound ringing in her ears now.

When he folds the denim back she sucks in a breath harshly between her teeth, so glad she wore a nice pair of panties out tonight. He finds those panties when he hooks his thumb past them and tugs at the front. His strength alone tears them down her thighs lightning fast until they and her jeans catch under her ass cheeks. Beth jolts at the motion before she cants her hips up to the ceiling and helps him clear them down her legs. At her ankles he pulls at them once more, leaving her without a stitch of clothing on. The thought of it makes her shiver even though she’s far from cold.

Especially when he stands up and _looks_ at her. Really looks at her. Eyes hungry and cock a hard tent in his jeans. His chest is heaving like he’s barely containing his need and her eyes devour it all, taking in his chest and shoulders, his muscles, _God_ those muscles. He takes a stand between her legs, between her _naked_ legs and looks at her pussy dripping on his counter. Then he licks his lips. Her clit is _pounding_ and she melts when he does that; every second longer that he looks, her lungs heave. Just when Beth feels like she couldn’t take another second of silence, he grips her thighs.

All the air seizes in her throat and she couldn’t talk if she wanted to. That seems to be okay with Daryl though, he seems to like to be quiet, to just listen to her bodies’ natural reactions unless he’s explicitly asking what she likes. She's sure he can hear the pounding of her heart in the silence, because she certainly can. Bending slowly, eyes on hers, he presses his bearded mouth to her inner thighs. She moans softly, eyes fluttering. His lips draw nearer and nearer to where she’s throbbing, ghosting over her skin in exquisite torture. Eyes opening, she manages to watch his lips press to the tamed line of curls leading to her pussy lips. She bites down on her bottom lip, whimpering as he luxuriates in her pubic hair.

Pressing hot, opened mouthed kisses, he works his way all the way down the patch of her groomed hair until he reaches bare skin, the tender beginning of her lower lips. Her chest is heaving as he looks up at her and then it seizes when he licks a soft, slow line straight through her cunt. Her head rings after she smashes it back against the counter, her elbows giving out from under her; her back meeting the inner lining of Daryl's jacket sprawled against the counter. Thighs trembling, he does it again. Even half dazed the need to watch him eat her gives her enough energy to sit up. Just in time for his tongue to spear through her swollen pussy lips and lap at her clit. A moan courses through her mouth and into the air, everything in her body thrumming with electricity.

“Where’d you want my mouth?” He mumbles, voice nearly lost between her thighs.

“ _Everywhere_ ,” she gasps. “Jesus, Daryl.”

“Here?” He whispers, tongue tracing her clit, causing her legs to shudder. “Here?” He asks again, moving down to her leaking hole.

Her voice strangles in her throat. Words come out broken and destroyed. “ _Yes. There._ ”

Indulging her, he digs his tongue down into her cunt, lapping at her quivering walls and driving her need higher. She grips his hair, restraining the need to fuck his face, not yet loose enough to be so brazen but getting there _fast._ His thick, powerful arms wrap around her thighs, encouraging her to smother him. Beth sobs deliriously, words an illegible garble. Daryl rockets upwards with the sound of her next high pitched whine, her hands slipping from his hair and knocking the horned headband off his head.

His own hands flatten on her twitching belly, taking his cock from the tight prison of his jeans with his other hand. “Can I...”

“ _Yes_ ,” she hisses, gripping at his forearms. “ _Please_.”

He groans under his breath as he uses the hand not pressing down on her hips to dig in his back pocket. He comes back with his wallet and then he flips that open and chucks it on the counter so it lands by her hip.

“Condom in there,” he grunts. “Pu’it on f’ me, girl.” His voice is so thick with want she can’t think straight.

Lighter fluid pours all down her skin and ignites with his words, roaring through her pussy lips until they swell in near agony. Worse still is when he reaches behind himself and tugs his tank top up over his head, leaving his chest bare to her eyes. She simply stares for a moment, taking in his small nipples, tattoos on his chest, his stomach. Daryl lets her take her fill, looking back at her with the same hungry awe she feels in her own gaze. His rough fingers sweep up her jumping belly, his fingertips dancing down her hip bone until she jerks. Whimpering, she scrabbles for his wallet and the condom in there. Bringing it to her mouth, Beth rips the foil open to retrieve it and then looks up at him.

Daryl’s pupils are near black with his lust for her and when she glances back to his cock, that’s dark too. Thick and dark, mushroom head weeping. Her throat closes as she rolls the condom down his length, using her fist to fit it snugly around the base of him, covering him to the root. The breath in the back of his throat rattles and his fingers clench into the soft skin of her belly. A moan gathers in her throat, holding there as he nestles back between her legs. It releases in a soft string of sound, notes that don’t quite make a song yet as he begins to caress his latex covered cock between her snug lips, brushing her clit softly.

“Y’like that, girl? You like my cock here?” He gasps, sweat pouring down his forehead.

Gasping, cheeks, chest and throat full of fire, she can only part her lips and try to make words happen. Finally, she just nods, not a clue how to talk the way he does, to tell him how good it feels, how bad she wants it. Riding the head of his cock back down her soaked slit makes her jump and excitement steals her breath when he notches into her opening. Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he begins to push past her scolding inner walls. She's so wet it’s smooth entry and her eyes roll as her nipples tighten, goose bumps flowing over her skin again.

Daryl groans and presses down into her hips with his hand, his other one holding her thigh and squeezing as he spreads her legs wider to accommodate him. He halts half way there, sweat on his brow and upper lip. With the way she’s reclining on her elbows, the angle isn’t quite right and he has to wait for her lie all the way down to try again. When she’s lay flat on the counter, his jacket sparing her the icy cold, he starts pushing again and then he’s _there._ Buried so deep she can’t catch her breath.  For a moment he stills and she lets her eyes flutter open to meet his.

He smiles at her, all dopey and sweaty and she smiles giddily back, embodied by him. “Feels so good,” she manages to whisper, surprising herself and rolling her hips.

Moaning softly in agreement, he rolls his back with her and they find a rhythm just like that, flowing apart and crashing back into each other. She takes a moment to just stare at him, absorbing his huge frame, his thick arms, his rippling stomach. Dark shaggy hair, electric blue eyes. He’s so handsome, rugged too which adds to his appeal. Like he just walked off the bad side of the tracks. Distracting her, his pubic bone presses neatly into her clit with every thrust and her moans get higher and higher, her hips faster. Daryl's thrusts speed up too, his moans louder, tightening her nipples to painful points.

It feels so good but she needs something else and she shoves all the way back up to face him, looping her arms around his neck. His hand on her belly slides to her hip, his eyes wide as he stares at her, taken off guard. She wants to say something but the angle is different like this, tighter and every time he plunges in and out it’s like her cunt _pops_ it’s clutching him so deep. There’s no words she could even begin to say past this kind of heady pleasure.

Daryl squeezes her tight and breathes heavy in her ear, “ _shit_ , can feel all'a you like this.”

Beth knows exactly what he means. She can feel every ridge and vein, every rib of the condom, his hot heat behind the latex. How thick and swollen he is, especially at the base. She buries her head in his shoulder, wraps her arms around his neck and holds on as he fucks her, his hands sliding beneath her ass and lifting her off the counter. He screws her just like that, balancing all her body in his arms, hovering a mere centimetre off the surface. The skin of his knuckles keep crashing into it and every time they do he thrusts that little bit harder. Her moans stop coming one after the other and just become this never ending loop of sound.

“ _Daryl,”_ she groans breathlessly. “M'gonna... God!”

“C'mon, ‘f me. _C_ ' _mon,_ girl,” he hisses, hips crazed as they crash into hers, executing sheer pressure onto her pubic bone until she can’t even see straight.

Tensing and tightening, her breath seizing, she finds her high note locked in her womb before it blows free and flies out of her throat, shattering the sound around them. Daryl becomes frenzied, new sounds she hasn’t heard from him emerging from the depths of his lungs as he pounds her. Her pussy throbs around his cock, begging him to let go. Just when she’s returning to her sanity, he loses his. His hands squeeze her ass cheeks so hard it aches and he drives up into her on his toes, making something burst deep in her cunt and causes tears to spring to her eyes.

The only sound she can make is a sob but she’s not hurt in any manner of the word, just experiencing an orgasm in a way she never has before. When he comes she knows about it, the latex condom swelling and filling, pressing into her sensitive inner walls as they give one final, desperate shudder. They still together, breathing hard and fast, leaving her reeling in the knowledge that, that was the best sex she’s ever had. She’s still trembling when he slowly pulls out of her, letting his soft cock lay against her inner thigh, his arms wrapped around her in a hug.

Beth hugs him back, her head lying on his chest and her arms wrapped up around his ribs, stroking his shoulders. “That was amazin'.” She manages to whisper, her cheeks scorching hot.

Daryl hums in agreement, his hands stroking down her spine as she leans back to shakily wipe the sweat on her brow. “C'men take a bath with me.”

A smile curves over her cheeks, skin sticky and hot. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all loved it. Keep the comments coming because trust me, it's producing chapters!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all your amazing comments!  
> Enjoy :)

“C’mon, I want it,” Beth pants desperately, her grip on Daryl’s cock her aid to rub the tip of him against her clit.

Daryl’s head rolls against the edge of the tub, his face sweaty and flushed. “Jesus, Beth, I told y’ the condoms are under the fuckin’ _sink_ an' in the top drawer by my damn bed.”

“So get one,” she teases.

He levels her with a dead pan expression. “You get one.”

Biting down on her lip, she glides his cock to her entrance and begins to push until Daryl’s hands on her waist squeeze. _“Beth_. We ain’t even talked ‘bout tests or no-”

“I got my mine, y' want me to...” Beth falters here, wishing she were ballsy enough to say _hop off your dick,_ but she chickens out and only adds, “hop off, drive home an’ get ‘em?” Rather sarcastically.

Daryl groans again, a frantic look in his eye like he’s _actually_ considering it. “Mine’s in there,” he pants.

Beth shrugs casually. “Okay, hold on…” she pretends to get up and laughs as he yanks her back down, splashing water and bubbles all over the floor.

“No,” he growls, squeezing her slick flesh. “Don’t go.”

“Do’y want me to stop?” She whispers as she takes his cock and brings it back to her grasping walls, pushes a little harder than she did last time.

God, _please_ say he doesn’t want her to stop.

“Yeah...” Daryl groans, eyes flicking to the bedroom like he’s thinking about dashing for that condom, and then her stomach seizes as the tip of his cock pops through the tight walls of her cunt. “God, _no!_ No, please, Beth, _no_ ,” Daryl pants, his neck craned back as sweat drips down his chest.

The muggy air slicks her body as much as the water as it crashes around her thighs, her hair stuck to her back and her breaths shallow. When she rolls her hips it’s with all her inner core strength, all her lust and desire, her need and it swallows Daryl’s dick deep inside her trembling walls. This amazing man has strolled back into her life and awoken someone inside Beth didn’t even know she had. Sure, she’s still not really great at verbally expressing what she wants, but actions are always better than words, right? The hidden woman he’s invoking seems to have the confidence to perch in Daryl’s lap and control him with her cunt.

Seems to be someone who has the ability to keep eye contact with him even though she’s a mess. Someone entirely new and powerful, someone who wants him so badly she’s willing to snatch him up with her hands and hang on tight. Whoever she is, Beth likes her and she channels her when she slows right down, her nails digging into Daryl’s rippling stomach. His hot hands drip water on her thighs as he grips them, his bitten fingernails gouging at her skin. With his neck strained back and face red, Beth finds there’s no air to breath. There’s also no room to move and the containment sends her dizzy.

The feeling of his long, hard length massaging her so deep is stunning but it’s missing something and she can’t find it. Frustration wells up in her stomach and she tries not to overthink. It’s always been a problem of Beth’s, worrying that she’s taking too long to come. With Daryl it hasn’t presented itself until now and she doesn’t want it to ruin this. Breathing deeply, she reaches between her own legs and lightly rubs at her clit, speeding up her hips a tiny notch. Daryl’s iris flare and tremble, sucking her deeper into his gaze until she’s completely lost in him. Even still she’s losing the flickers of heat and she growls, leaving her clit to tug the soaked ends of her own hair.  

Daryl sits up in the bath, jostling her and the water so that it sloshes against the sides. “Wha’s wrong?”

She shakes her head, not wanting to spoil this but he raises his eye brow at her and she rolls her shoulders instead, a blush blooming into her face. “I’ve never _done it_ , in the bath or shower. I don’t think m’doin’ it right.”

“Girl,” he whispers softly as he rolls his hips once more. “You’re killin’ me.”

“S’that bad?” She whispers back, hooking her arms around his neck.

Taking her mouth in a soft kiss, he shakes his head before he pulls away, his thumb brushing away a wet lock of hair. “Nah. Jus’ gotta keep talkin’ to me. S’how it works, how it feels so good.”

Beth bites her lip, not really sure what to say to him. She’s had fun lovers in the past but they’ve all been kind of… average… selfish. Beth’s always been quite a realistic person and in her sex life she’s never had high expectations. In her defence, it was no use pondering on a hunky man from one of her romance novels, when she had never met anyone like that. The gorgeous sex Gods were for the pages and the realistic, normal college jocks were for real life. Sometimes Beth wouldn’t even talk to them, just fumble around in the dark, yank down each other’s necessary items of clothing and then he would push it in. It’s all been very lack lustre in contrast to Daryl.

She wonders if it’s his age, if he’s had his time of being a fumbling boy in the dark. If he’s outgrown that. It’s something new for her, something exciting but new all the same and she has to take a moment to understand how she will approach it. The thought of communicating during sex is a little frightening, to speak honestly about what she wants. On the other hand it’s very liberating. To express where to touch her, where to move away from. To know that she has that voice, that power; that opportunity to explore her sexuality. Licking her lips, she finally checks back into reality. Smiling devilishly, she pushes up from Daryl’s lap, his cock sliding out of her depths.

Blue eyes watch her curiously as she hops out of the bath and faces him, crooking her finger. A giggle slips past her lips as he pushes up with his palms to stand to his full height. He’s so goddamn handsome and she knows this is the part she’s meant to run, to start the game but she can’t resist staying to watch. The overhead lights are stark and brash but even still his muscles beneath them are a work of art. To think she can have those arms wrapped around her if she just asks makes her a little weak in the knees. His hard cock stands proud against his belly as he steps out of the tub, water dripping down his gleaming body.

Wet, shaggy hair hangs in his face and it lends to the mysterious shadow he looks like. Laughing again, she hurries away while still facing him, blindly reaching out her hands to catch herself as she stumbles back. He’s smiling at her, his eyes keen and thighs powerful. The floor is carpeted and yet his large footsteps are still loud, heavy. Hands fumbling in his top drawer while she watches him, she quickly snags a condom, relived it’s the right drawer. Daryl advances suddenly and Beth squeaks, stumbling once more, unable to tear her eyes away from him, and finds herself against a chair she assumes was hastily stuffed in the corner of his room.

He raises his brow in challenge and she raises hers back, lifting her ass so it’s seated on the arm, her wet skin dampening it. He strides forward eagerly, bubbles sliding down his wet limbs and snatches her up. A breathless gasp worms past her lips before he captures them. Fingers twining in his hair, she uses her other hand to hold the condom as she bites on his lower lip, sucking it heatedly into her mouth.

Daryl growls against her lips and takes a hold of her waist. “Turn f’ me.”

Breath stuttering in her chest, she first hands him the condom before she turns in a circle, allowing Daryl to help arrange her limbs. There’s a moment where the foil tears and where he pants shallowly. She glances over her shoulder to see him fisting the base of his cock so the latex fits properly before he lifts his head once more. Turning her head back forward, her belly jumps with excitement when his hand takes her thigh and lifts it onto the arm chair, spreading her aching cunt with a resonating sticky sound. Flushing deeply, her nipples tighten painfully hard as he takes her left arm and bands it around her back until she can grab her right hip.

With his two hands wrapped around her forearm like this she’s completely exposed. What doesn’t help is when her eyes rise up she realises she’s in front of Daryl’s standing mirror. Her whole body flushes hot and she jerks when his cock head kisses her clit.

Their eyes meet in the mirror. “Y’don't know how fuckin’ good you look,” he rasps, hands sliding from her arm down to her hips and ass.

Unable to respond, she continues to watch in the mirror as his dark head nestles into Beth’s throat, lips kissing and sucking at her pulse. Her eyelashes flutter as she rolls her hips back, her pussy begging for him back inside, burning deeply. Daryl bites into her shoulder gently, enough to cause a flood of goose bumps down her arms. His thumb sweeps over them where he’s moved his one hand to hold her arm pulled behind her back. The other slides appreciatively over her right ass cheek as he hums pleasantly. Shoulder burning with the position, Beth tries to lean into it rather than away from it to be more comfortable.

“Y’okay?” He whispers into the crook of her shoulder.

She nods quickly, panting with need. “More than okay. Please, Daryl, I…” _I want it,_ she wants to beg but her throat closes and all she can manage is another strangled, “ _please.”_

Groaning throatily, his cock travels her slit, teasing at her dripping entrance. Whimpers drip from her lips unchecked, her heart racing in her throat until he finally begins to push. The head of him spreads her walls and they flower for him, taking him in desperately. His breathing spikes higher in her ear the further he thrusts. Where he’s gripping her forearm behind her back his nails are digging in, his weight pressing into her ass and forcing more pressure on her knee. Pushing her hips back, Beth swallows every inch he has to give, heart beating behind her eyelids and in her throat. The mirror is still before them, painting an erotic image but she has to close her eyes.

It’s too much all at once. Being this naked and new to a situation, having sex with Daryl, and learning herself in the process. This position, the control he has over her body. It’s terrifying and for a dizzying moment she’s lost. Until he withdraws and thrusts back in, his hips meeting her ass cheeks perfectly. Then she doesn’t care how lost she is because she’s _burning._ Sweat stings her eyes and trickles down her body, their flesh meeting slow and deep. This position is so baring it allows the head of his cock to meet that soft spongey bit no other man has every found before. Beth’s breathing struggles and she chokes on air, scrabbling at the back of the sofa.

Daryl’s hand not handing her forearm grips at her waist now, pulling her in tight and deep. Even when he withdraws from inside he’s still right there. Still sharing her oxygen, her skin, and the same particles of the air. Primarily she keeps her eyes closed but when she does flicker them open the sight destroys her. Naked and bare, watching herself be fucked by this stunning hulk of a man is too much to comprehend. The way her ass fits snugly into the cradle of his hips has her orgasm winding inside her gut and kicking her in the ribs, stealing her breath. Everything between her legs tightens, sucking Daryl in deeper.

He howls brokenly into her ear, his hips speeding just a touch more, beginning to lose his careful rhythm. Beth balances her one free hand on the other arm but mostly trusts Daryl to take her weight, tearing at her lower lip with her teeth, her natural instinct to keep quiet. Daryl doesn’t want quiet though. He reaches his hand on her hip to her lips and gently frees her bottom one, forcing her eyes open once more so that they can connect with his in the mirror. Her mouth falls open and she can’t help the moan that comes out, something broken and unravelled. When his eyes roll in his head and his hand slips from her mouth, down to her throat to lightly squeeze, Beth loses it.

Seizing up with the incredible sweep of pleasure over her body, she bows her head and screams, Daryl’s lips kissing down her spine. The tremors wrack her body for endless seconds after that and she shudders every time he shallowly withdraws and pushes back. The pounding, fluttering, soaked mess that is her cunt sucks greedily at Daryl where he shallowly thrusts and he crows into her ear again, his hands releasing both her throat and arm to squeeze her breasts. He curls around her, keeping her from flopping over the chair and thrusts deep, forcing the air from her lungs, an intense heat in her cunt where his cum spills into the condom.

For a moment he pants against her back, belly hitting her spine with his breath and mouth pressed sloppily to her cheek. Kissing her softly, he then pulls back and out of her sore pussy. Tiredly, Beth turns to face him and watches with drooping eyes as he heads back into the bathroom to discard of the condom. Heading over to his bed, her eyes itch and burn as she crawls beneath the sheets. Maybe she should be questioning if she has an invitation to stay but when he offered her a bath she doesn’t think he had any plans for her to leave. When Daryl returns he smiles softly and crawls into the bed with her.

“Was so good, girl,” he whispers softly as he wraps himself around her.

Beth smiles, her body buzzing pleasantly. “Thank you. S’been nice seein’ you, spendin’ time with you.”

“Fuckin’ me?” He teases as he cups her breast.

Laughing with flush cheeks, she tips her head back to meet his eyes. _Say it_ , she begs herself. “An’ fuckin’ you.” She agrees, cheeks flaming hotter. “Ten outta ten,” she adds just because her stomach is squirming in disbelief that she managed to get the words out.

Daryl scoffs, reaching over her to flick off the lamp so that they’re plunged into darkness. “Now I feel bad.”

Frowning, she leans on his chest in the darkness. “Why?”

“’Cause I only gave you an’ eight,” he teases.

Faking a gasp of outrage, she grabs her pillow and whacks him in the head. “An’ eight!? What’d I gotta do for a ten?”

He grins, something she sees even in the dark. “Mornin’ sex.”

Ridiculously, she blushes even more, this one travelling to her chest. “Fine. We’ll do a recount in the mornin’.” God, who even is she?

“Oh yeah, Greene,” he agrees as he curls her into his chest. “We’ll do a recount alrite."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I have to say an absolutely massive thank you to not only all of you who not only nominated me for a Moonshine Award, and also then voted for me in addition, but to all the people who organise the Awards. Because of you guys, I came first place in Best Fix-it-fic for Shattered Memories, and second place in Best On-the-road fic for Wild Love. I cannot tell you guys how amazing it is to be nominated on these two pieces of writing, let alone scoring first and second place. Shattered Memories especially, was one of the first times I really sat down and challenged myself. Multiple chapters, character development, plot heavy, feelings, mental health, angst, trauma, the whole nine yards. The fact that I put blood, sweat and tears into that, and you guys loved it enough for it to come first? My heart is blown open with love. Thank you so, so much. Wild Love too, was a risky fic for me given it's ending and again, you still loved it enough to nominate and vote. I just can't EVEN. You guys are beyond awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 
> 
> Now on with the chapter! I have so many plans for this fic my mind is bursting, and I'm even debating on if I will go ahead with a sequel...

Weak sunlight filters through the barely shut curtains, pushing between Beth’s lashes and into her retinas. She winces, the base of her skull throbbing from the little alcohol she drank last night. Man, she’s such a lightweight. Rolling her head over on the pillow, she finds Daryl’s sleeping face beside her and freezes. Oh right. Hottest sex of her life with her teenage infatuation. Just another day at the office. God, what was she thinking? He must think she’s such a whore, the way she acted last night. Grinding on him, making out with him against Rick and Lori’s house, sneaking off to be fucked stupid.

The first day they saw each other in seven years and the first thing she does is fuck him. She cringes, ashamed with herself in a way she never has been after a one night stand before. It was different when she was travelling. Those were guys she was never going to see again, people she didn’t really care to remember, just caught up in the moment. Taking in his slack face, she breathes deeply and tries to calm down, organise herself. Time to make a plan. Start from the top and work her way down the check list. First of all, slide as gently and quietly as she can out of bed. Second, tip toe her way to his dresser, slide a drawer open and steal a t-shirt, quietly close it.

Third, hold her breath tight as Daryl rolls over in bed, mumbling incoherently. Next, let out a breath of relief when she manages to shimmy through the crack of his door without a sound. Heart beating fast, she hurries into the kitchen on quiet feet, and locates the clothes she left behind last night. Tugging her jeans back on, and then the stolen t-shirt, she looks wistfully at Daryl’s jacket still on the counter where it fell from her body. For just a moment, she has a flash of last night, a splash of heat exploding in her gut, the echo of his sweaty skin slapping against hers. Swallowing, she decides stealing his t-shirt is bad enough and hurries over to her heels and clutch.

With her clutch tucked under her armpit, she’s just slipping on her second shoe when a creak of the floorboards makes her heart pound. Movement sounds and she hurries to unlock the floor door, easing it open quickly and throwing herself through it when he calls, “Beth?”

She doesn’t look back as she shuts it and hurries out of the grove in her ridiculous assemble, dreading what a mess her face and hair must look like, imagining Daryl watching from the window. The walk back to Rick and Lori’s is longer in the daylight and her feet are killing by the time she gets there. It’s early on a Sunday morning so she doubts anyone is awake, which makes her feel marginally better. The car she borrowed off her parents is parked on the curb and she opens her clutch for the keys. Her nerves are still on edge after running out on Daryl, her mind still in planning mode and trying not to think about it until she has the privacy to do so.

When the door’s unlocked, she throws herself in, chucking the clutch on the seat beside her. Toeing off her heels, she massages the aching balls of her feet  with a muted groan before she flips down the visor. God, she’s a state. Glitter is literally everywhere, decorating all her skin and parts of her hair. Her fake lashes are gone, probably lost on Daryl’s pillow. Not to mention the corset and costume wings in his car. She grimaces to herself. She does not want to analyse how she feels about Daryl’s bed and car already having pieces of her in it. Clearing her throat, she turns the key in the engine and pulls away, hoping the car doesn’t wake anyone in the house.

She rolls down the windows and breathes in the crisp air. First day of November. Nearly her birthday, and Thanksgiving, Christmas; New Year. She loves summer most of all but she appreciates this time of year too. Especially because it’s her first year back at home in so long. Letting herself disappear into reality, she makes the drive home without turning on the radio and enjoys the early morning quiet. For a moment she just wants a bit of normality because that space that occupies Daryl Dixon is a walking fantasy. _He_ is a walking fantasy. When she pulls up on the farm, her parents are predictably already awake, getting ready for church, Beth imagines.

She doesn’t want to explain herself, and she certainly doesn’t want to be convinced to go to church, so she leaves her heels and clutch in the car until later. Climbing the tree by her window, she giggles to herself when she experiences a hit of teenage nostalgia. When she’s in, she eases open her bedroom door and heads for the bathroom, seeking that desperate thread of normality and trying not to think about the beautiful man she snuck out on.

* * *

 

After a day spent showering, composing music on her laptop, job hunting and dinner with her parents, Beth is wiped. She turns in when they do and sleeps deep, not thinking about it when she slides Daryl's t-shirt back on.

When she wakes in the morning, the landline is ringing and she answers it to a shriek of glee. “Bethhhhhh!”

Pulling the phone away from her ear, she laughs, recognising that voice anywhere. “Hey, Jax.”

“Hey yourself, stranger! I can’t believe you’re home! An’ you haven’t called _me_. Your childhood best friend. _Childhood_ , Beth! Does that mean nothin’ to you?” Jax faux sobs on the other end.

Twirling the phone cord around her finger, Beth snorts, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Everythin’ just kinda happened at once…” she drifts off, breath stolen by Daryl’s eyes in her mind. “An’ I lost track of time. You forgive me though, right?”

Jax sighs dramatically and Beth can just see her blowing a bouncy, chocolate brown curl away from her face. “Fine, fine. You’re off the hook… _if_ you come an’ meet me an’ the guys for coffee down town. We’re playin' hooky.”

Oh boy. The invitations she was ignoring. It’s not that she hasn’t missed everyone or doesn’t want to see them, but she’s just afraid that they won’t be the same people she remembers. She certainly doesn’t feel like the same girl that they do. Beth continues to hesitate, breathing down the other end.

“C’mon Beth, I ain’t askin’ you to volunteer in The Hunger Games. We used to hang out all the time!”

“I know, I know,” she answers quickly, feeling guilty. “Fine, I’ll be there. What time?”

“Yes! The guys are gonna be so pumped!” She shrieks in her usual enthusiastic manner. “Twelve good for you?”

“Twelve’s perfect,” she answers, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. “I’ll see you there.”

After getting ready, she hitches a ride into town with her parents, begging off visits with family friends. The coffee shop isn’t far from where her parents drop her, so it’s no more than five minutes later that she’s pulling open the cafe door. Strong coffee and hot muffins greet her, her chest instantly warm and soothed by her old hangout. She spent so much time in here writing music before she went away. So much time studying, practising tests, goofing off with her friends. She also had one date here before, a boy who was staying with his grandparents for the summer.

He was her summer fling, her first kiss. So important to her at one stage in her life that she’s surprised to find she can’t recall his name now. Funny, how times change. The first person she spots of her old gang is Jax, wearing a big smile and holding an even bigger cup of coffee. She doesn’t look a bit different. Her hair is no longer shocking pick at the ends and her eyeliner is neater now, but she’s just Jax. Beth smiles big and genuine, allowing her old time friend to hurry forward and hug her fiercely.

“Woah, don’t burn me!” Beth laughs teasingly. They pull away and she looks at the rest of the old gang at the table, grinning wide. “Look at you scrappy kids.”

“Hey, you still look like the youngest!” Jax’s younger brother, Jimmy hollers loudly. His eyes are still young and blue, even if his jaw is squarer than she remembers.

“S’that little Jimmy I spy? What happened to your round cheeks!?” She exclaims as they hug.

Someone tugs her shoulder and turns her to receive another hug. “His balls dropped, finally,” Lauren smirks, a lip ring she didn’t used to have glinting in the soft, café lights. Beth squeals as they hug before Lauren pulls back dramatically, her long lashes sweeping her cheeks. “Okay, okay, let go before I voodoo your ass.”

“She still scares the fuck outta me,” Wyatt snarks from the table, green eyes bright and dyed red hair even brighter as he waves up at her.

Beth waves back at him. Wyatt’s not and has never been a hugger, and he also has a phobia of germs to boot. “Somethings never change ‘round here.”

They smirk at each other and then she glances around at the group. “You guys, I can’t believe we’re all back together! Everyone looks so old!”

A mangled chorus of indignant _hey’s_ rise in the space around her and she laughs heartedly, taking in Wyatt’s sharp jaw, Jax’s grey eyes that Beth has _always_ been jealous of, Jimmy’s scar on his brow, and Lauren’s snarky, pointed face. It feels exactly the same and it feels good, just what she needs right now after her night with Daryl, her peak into someone a lot more exciting than who she is.

They chat, catch up, drink coffee and let the hours slip away.

* * *

When she arrives home, she feels more stable in her stomach than she did yesterday morning, like she’s reconnected with a piece of her she’s been trying to push away for so long. She felt so different when she come home, as if she couldn’t be the Beth everyone in town knew and the Beth she is now. Except she can because that’s part of growing up. People change. Apparently they also have sex with men they have intense physical, raw attraction too as well. She groans as she scrubs her face, finally trying to explore what happened the other night and what it means.

Does it mean she’s a whore? Does it mean she’s a bold woman taking what she wants? What does Daryl think about her? It’s not like she can ask him. She doesn’t have a phone nor his number. She’s sure he could get her parents landline if he really tried, but he hasn’t. Does that not speak volumes? Then who is she anyway, to judge? She ran out on him. Let him fuck the life out of her and then just skipped out. If the roles were reversed, she’d be pissed. Groaning again, she potters around the kitchen idly tidying up and thinking about what she should do.

Should she try and talk to him? Leave him alone? It’s not like she can avoid him forever, not if she intends to stay here; move into town, which she does. Travelling was amazing and it won’t be her last time seeing the world, but she wants to lay her roots here, where she was raised. The phone rings, distracting her and for a wild moment when she picks it up, she thinks its Daryl.

It takes her a while to realise its Lori’s voice coming over the line. “Oh, hey, Lori.”

There’s a pause and then, “you sound disappointed.”

“Hmm? Oh, no, no. I just got in is all.”

“Oh right. Well, m’glad you’re alive at least.”

“Huh?” Beth frowns unseen, the kitchen counter becoming blurry in her vision.

“Well,” Lori answers, a little smugness in her words. “You did disappear on me the other night. Funny, Daryl seemed to go missin’ ‘bout same time as you.”

Beth flushes, glad they’re not face to face. God, she completely forgot they skipped out on the end of the party. “Lori, m’so sorry I didn’t even think to let you kn-”

“Save it,” Lori interjects without heat. “Saw you guys walkin’ down the drive. _Hand in hand.”_

Clearing her throat, Beth quickly steers the conversation. “So you wanna talk?”

Laughing, the other woman allows her change in subject. “Alright, Greene, have it your way. Anyway, m’sorry to ask, an’ I know you ain’t a kid who needs a few dollars anymore… but my babysitter is sick, Rick’s got poker night an’ Carl’s stayin’ at a friend’s place. Thing is, I was gonna hang out with some girlfriends…” She clears her throat. “If you don’t want to s’okay.”

Immediately she wants to ask if she’ll run into Daryl there but she already knows she will. Poker night has been Rick and Daryl’s thing for years, the reason she met Daryl in the first place. She doesn’t mind babysitting, it’s always good to earn money whether she has savings or not but whether she’s ready to face Daryl yet is another matter.

Finally, she pinches her eyes closed and nods even though Lori can’t see her. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be there.”

“Beth, thank you,” Lori lets out a rushed breath. “Honestly, I’ve been goin’ crazy in this house an’ I really needed it.”

“S’fine, really. Be there in an hour?”

“Perfect.”

When they hang up, she hurries upstairs to freshen up and search for her mama to ask if she can borrow the car again.


	10. Chapter 10

Beth tries not to think about seeing Daryl on the drive over, but when she pulls up to Rick and Lori’s house, dusk settling across the world, he’s at the bottom of the porch steps, smoking a cigarette. Lori steps out on to the porch just as Beth exits her car.

“Daryl,” she breathes when he glances up at her through the fringes of his dark hair.

“I’ll leave you two alone, come find me in a little while, Beth.” Lori smiles softly before heading back inside, the screen door shutting harshly behind her.

“Hey,” Beth whispers nervously after nodding to Lori, tucking her loose hair behind her ear just for something to do.

“Hey,” Daryl answers back just as softly, hands stuffed into his jean pockets. “So, y' did the sneak off in the mornin’ trick, huh? Didn’t see it comin’.”

Beth winces. “Daryl…”

“Why’d you run off like that? I hurt y’? Scare you? I know I can get a little on t’ rough side, s’why I needed you to talk to me,” he mutters after he pulls another drag out of his cigarette.

She shakes her head quickly, watching the cherry on the end glow. “Wasn’t nothin’ you did… s’just… me, I suppose.”

“Y’regret it?” He asks seriously, intensely, holding her eyes with his.

Does she? She looks right back at him, cheeks burning as she shrugs. “I don’t think so?”

“So what’s up? Talk t' me,” he says quietly, no force, no pressure, smoke blowing through his mouth and nostrils.

Clearing her throat, she finally snaps her gaze away from his to watch it blow away into the air. “You’re not like other guys.”

“An’ that’s bad?” He asks genuinely, wrapping his lips around the filter once more.

Beth shakes her head again, frustrated with herself for not quite understanding how she feels, tugging at the sleeves of her shirt with nervous fingers. “I guess I don’t want you thinkin’ I’m like that. That I just sleep ‘round an’... an’ _stuff_. I… I just had a really big crush on you for the _longes’_ time an’ then you were _there_ an’ I-”

“Hey,” he cuts her off soothingly, his cigarette butt gone and his hands wrapped around her upper arms softly. “I don’t think that. Wouldn’. Up to you who y’ give y’ body to. S’that all that’s botherin’ you?”

Glancing up at him, she tries to find that less shy version of herself that she seems to be around him. “You ask me what I liked… when we, erm… you asked me, an’ you listened an’ you used a _condom_ without question. The guys I’ve been with before, they weren’t like that. It was different. Good, surprising,” she hurries to say so as not to be offending. “Just different.”

He nods and she really feels like he’s listening to her, communicating with her because he wants to make her comfortable. “S’only what you deserve, Greene. What everyone deserves. Your body, your rules, your consent. S’all yours. If y’didn’t want it, I wouldn’ go any further. You said it hurt, it wasn’t gettin’ you off, whatever, an’ I’d stop.”

Something giddy and fluttery, something powerful squirms in her stomach. Smiling, she glances away before she looks back at his serious blue eyes. “So what’s that mean for you? How’d you feel ‘bout what happened?”

A small smirk flickers on his lips. “I had fun, mostly ‘cause you seemed like y’did. S’where I get my rocks off. An’ I don’t regret it, don’t expect nothin’ from it. You want it t' be one time, tha’s your call an’ I cain’t do shit ‘bout it. You wanna see me ‘gain, I can handle that too.”

“Oh you can handle it, huh?” She teases, feeling so much better for expressing herself and knowing where he stands, how he feels.

He steps closer, leaning into her a little. “I could handle you ‘gain.” He leans down even further and lets a groan unwind into her ear. “You smell so fuckin’ good, y’know that? Still haven’t changed my sheets.”

Beth’s stomach jumps as she finally comes to the realisation that she didn’t sleep with some random, horny boy. Daryl’s a man who respects her, who wants her to communicate her feelings, her wants, and her needs. It’s such unknown territory for her but she wants to explore it. She reaches up and hugs him, and without hesitation he hugs her back.

Lips at his ear, she whispers, “I wore your t-shirt to bed last night.”

A hum moves through her chest where they’re pressed together. He nuzzles his face into her throat, whispering back to her. “Nothin’ underneath?”

“Nothin’.”

“Fuck that gets me hard.” She gasps and he pulls away with a smirk before he frowns. “Back up, y' stole my t-shirt?” Beth laughs and knows it’s rhetorical when he continues speaking. “Me an’ Rick’ve gotta get goin’. But here.” He fishes into his coat pocket and pulls out some paper. Glancing at it, she sees it’s a group of digits. “My number. ‘Case you wanna call. See me sometime.”

Glancing back up at him, she smiles and takes it. “I haven’t got a phone yet an’ I’m hopin’ to be busy with interviews for a while but I’ll call you. Soon.”

“Good,” he smiles, clucking her under the chin. “Good luck, Greene. See you ‘round.”

“See you ‘round,” she repeats, watching him turn and head towards his car as she tucks the paper in her back pocket, smiling that he just had it ready and waiting in his jacket.

Rick leaves the house next, mock saluting her until she sticks her tongue out at him. He returns it, a flash of his tongue and then a smile before he climbs into the passenger seat of Daryl’s truck. She watches right until they peel out of the driveway, Daryl’s eyes holding hers in the rear-view mirror until they disappear down the road, and then she finally heads inside.

Beth finds Lori in the kitchen washing up, humming under her breath and clears her throat to alert the other woman to her presence. “Oh!” Lori laughs, a light flush on her cheeks. “Hey, Beth. Thanks for comin’ over.”

Smiling, she leans her hip against the breakfast bar. “No problem. Sorry I cut you off out there, was rude of me.”

“Nah,” Lori dismisses, rinsing out a cracked mug that Beth recognises as Rick’s favourite one, still standing all this time later. “You an’ Daryl looked like you needed to chat.” She throws a look to Beth over her shoulder. “Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

Shrugging, she forces the flush out of her face. “Don’t know if there’s much to talk ‘bout.”

“Oh, casual, huh?” Lori asks with a teasing smile.

Laughing, Beth rolls her eyes. “That obvious?”

“That you an’ Daryl can’t keep your hands off each other? Yeah, pretty much.” Lori responds as she turns to face Beth, bracing her back against the sink while she dries her hands. “Again, wanna talk ‘bout it?” Blowing out a breath, she nods and Lori smiles. “Sit down, you wanna drink?”

Taking a seat, Beth shakes her head and politely declines. “Thanks, though.” Waiting for Lori to sit across from her, Beth blows out another deep breath. “So, um, we all knew I liked Daryl, years ago.” Lori looks at her patiently, nodding along. “An’ at the party we just had all this…” She faults here, trying to find an appropriate word.

“Chemistry?” Lori supplies gently.

Grateful, Beth smiles. “Yeah, all this chemistry an’ I went back to his…” She blushes now, her stomach squirming. “Don’t you need to get ready?”

Raising an eyebrow, Lori looks at the clock on the kitchen wall and back to Beth. “I have time, an’ don’t change the subject. You look a little lost, hon an’ I wanna help. I love you an’ Daryl both.”

Smiling, Beth takes Lori’s offered hand and squeezes. “Thank you. I just can’t really explain what’s happenin’ ‘cause I don’t know either. The… _sex,”_ she pushes out quickly, staring at their hands. “Was amazin’, _really_ amazin’, an’ he was so attentive. Askin’ me what I liked, what to do to make me comfy. It’s kinda thrown me. I don’t know how to tread a path like that.”

Lori nods, not even ribbing Beth for the sex comments or remarking how weird it is listening to Daryl’s sex life, her long-time friend. “I know what you mean. Before Rick, I didn’t even know you could have fun in bed. All the guys I’d been with were young, immature an’ jus’ wanted to see my tits. ‘Scuse my language.”

Beth releases their clasped hands to wave that comment off, letting Lori continue. “Rick, he wanted me to have fun too an’ suddenly I had this _voice_ , y’know? You hear so much ‘bout consent an’ stuff, but I can’t think of one guy who asked me _this okay_?”

Nodding, she feels some of the tension drain out of her to talk about this. “That’s exactly how I felt. It scared me, ‘cause I don’t know if I’m bold ‘nough to say them things. I’m a little braver with Daryl, braver than I’ve ever been.” Her mind flashes to their public, hot and heavy make out against the back of this very house and she flushes. “An’ then on top of all that I don’t even know what this is. A benefits thing? Hangin’ out? Dating? I dunno.”

“So ask him,” Lori encourages, sounding like Daryl. “He’s a little rough ‘round the edges, m’the first to admit. The ‘mount of times that man’s crashed on my couch over the years,” she stops to roll her eyes. “But underneath all that is a boy that wants to be loved. His story ain’t mine to tell, but there’s stuff in Daryl’s past that leaves an imprint. He’s not the guy even you remember, Beth. He’s gettin’ older an’ he’s tryin’ to let go.”

Beth hesitates with this new information, scanning Lori’s face. “Do you think I should even be doin’ this? He’s twice my age. What’re my parents gonna think? This town?”

Lori scoffs, glancing out the windows of the kitchen as if seeing the town in its full capacity. “Small towns, small minds,” she quotes Rick’s favourite saying from the amount of times Beth’s heard it over the year she babysat. “You do what makes you happy, an’ don’t worry ‘bout the definition right now. You’ve got adventure in you, Beth. You went to college, saw the world, you can handle a small town romance an’ some good sex.”

“Lori!” She gasps and then laughs when the other woman does. “Thanks though, seriously. I saw old friends yesterday but I just didn’t think they’d get it.”

Smiling, Lori pulls her chair out and stands. “Anytime, Beth. You should talk to your friends though, they love you an’ you only just got ‘em back. As fun an’ excitin’ as this thing with Daryl is, don’t isolate them. S’easy to do when you’re wrapped up in a whirlwind of a man.”

Beth nods and before she can speak again, Judith shouts, “mommmmmyyyy, there’s a spider in my room!”

They share a laugh and Lori shouts back, “comin’, sweetheart!” Turning to Beth, she shrugs in a ‘what are you gonna do?’ gesture. “Best get ready anyhow. Thanks again for comin’ over, Beth. I’ll get Judy to bed ‘fore I go, but do’y mind gettin’ her fed?”

“No problem!” She answers enthusiastically. “Why don’t you start gettin’ ready an’ I’ll go deal with that spider? Then I can ask Judith what she wants to eat an’ get to know her again.”

Lori throws her an amused smile as they walk out of the kitchen. “You’re on, but be warned: she’s fussy.”

“Mom!” Judith shouts again. “S’goin’ under my bed!”

“I’m comin’ to rescue you, Judith!” Beth cries dramatically, jumping the stairs two at a time while Lori’s laughter follows behind.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> I am so sorry that I haven't been around. If you're on my Tumblr you would have seen my little note, but if not then I'm sorry I left you in the dark. Not answering comments or uploading. I've had a really rough couple months, that I won't bore you with. Real life, y'know? It sucks. Anyway, I'm slowly crawling out of that pit and returning to the sun, the goodness, the love and this place is so good for that. All of your amazing comments really do make me feel good, so thank you so much. 
> 
> I admit I haven't been writing during my hiatus, but I do have five chapters pre-written, so you may have to hang on for me when it comes to uploads. Hopefully, they won't be as long as this one was! 
> 
> So big A/N over, enjoy!

Where October dragged for Beth, November flies by before her eyes. The days disappearing between her fingertips as she’s swept up in job interviews, job applications and music composition. Interview questions, music notes, song lyrics and always Daryl get mixed up in her head until one day she looks up and it’s November 18th.

“Happy birthday!” Jax shouts down the phone.

Beth winces as she pulls the receiver away from her face and then cautiously brings it back to her ear. “Jax, it’s eight am.”

“So? Don’t you people rise at the crack of dawn?” Jax asks, in-between ordering a latte, an unknown barista Beth can just about hear responding.

“Not since I got home, gimme a break,” Beth mutters as she rubs her eyes, glancing at her mama with a smile, cooking pancakes at the stove. “Thanks for callin’ though.”

“Well it’s the first time I could in years! I can’t believe you didn’t take a phone with you on your trip. Wait,” she gasps in horror. “Do you even have a phone now?” Jax’s voice is swept away by the wind and Beth has to strain to understand everything she’s saying.

“No an’ where even are you this early?”

“Uh, downtown. It’s Wednesday, some of us small folk work this early.” A car honks and Jax shouts at someone before coming back to the phone. “Speakin’ of, any job huntin’ goin’ well?”

Beth blows out a frustrated breath. “No call backs yet, which would be okay if I wasn’t already lowerin’ my expectations. There’s this recordin’ studio I interviewed at last week, an’ I really wanna hear back from ‘em. The pay’s good an’…” She trails off, lowering her voice and tucking in closer to the phone. “I saw a really great apartment ten blocks away from there.”

“You’re apartment huntin’?” Jax asks in surprise. “Fed up of your parents already?”

“Well…” Beth hesitates, watching as her mama plates up the pancakes. “Would be nice. I got ‘nough cash for a deposit, just don’t wanna make a move ‘til I’ve secured a job, y’know?”

“Yeah, I get ya,” she answers breathlessly. “Damn, it’s cold. Hey, sorry to ditch but I gotta get in ‘fore I’m late. Let’s go out this weekend? Go shoppin’, get you a phone an’ drive out to a decent bar.”

Chewing her lip, Beth thinks about it and doesn’t think about Daryl’s husky voice telling her he'll take her shopping. “Shoppin’ I’ll go for, I do need a phone…” She also refuses to think about Daryl’s number on her bedside table. Refuses. “The bar we’ll talk ‘bout on Saturday. That studio said they’d let me know by Friday an’ I might have ‘cause to celebrate.”

“Awesome,” Jax pants enthusiastically. “I’ll get Lauren on board.”

“Lauren hates shoppin’,” Beth points out, something she knows hasn’t changed all this time later. “Call Wyatt ‘nstead. Gay best friend benefits, right?”

“Oh I’ve missed you,” Jax breathes dramatically. “Okay, really gotta run. Happy birthday, Beth. I’ll call you Friday!”

“Bye, Jax,” Beth smiles, hanging up the phone.

Finally free, her mama has free reign to smother her with kisses and hugs, leaving her with that peaceful feeling only mothers bring. Her daddy enters after with fresh eggs and pulls her into another hug. They share pancakes and OJ, Beth managing to eat only one before the phone rings again.

There’s no use sending one of her parents to get it, she knows it’ll be Maggie since she promised she’d call last night. Rushing over, she grabs the receiver and brings it to her ear, immediately regretting it when Maggie shouts, “happy birthday, Bethy!”

Sighing good naturedly, Beth knows this is going to be a repeated thing for the rest of the day and decides to get on board with it.

When she hangs up with Maggie an hour later, she finishes her cold pancakes and dresses, planning to spend the day with her family. Her and her parents drive over to Maggie and her husband, Glenn’s, not twenty minutes from their farm. At Maggie’s they fuss over Beth’s nephew, Hershel Jr, and Maggie gets out her wedding album, as she's prone do to at any given opportunity.

“Oh come on,” Glenn faux whines. “We were there, we’ve seen the pictures a million times.”

Maggie rolls her green eyes and let’s her cheeks lift in a smile soon after. “I like ‘em, so be quiet.”

Glenn purses his lips, dark eyes narrowed. “Speakin' of quiet, Hershel is suspiciously so.”

“I got ‘im,” Beth pipes up, extracting herself from the couch to hunt down her nephew.

She finds him in his playroom, clumsily moving about toy trains. Folding herself onto the floor, she smoothes out her dress. “Hey, bud.”

Baby Herschel looks up with his daddy’s eyes and his mama’s mouth. “Bewthy. Wanna play wiv me?”

“Absolutely, kiddo,” she answers with a smile. “Wanna race?”

“Yeah!” The cutie answers with a grin, showing his small teeth.

Beth smiles, leaning over to stroke his full head of dark hair. Taking a moment to reflect, she thinks about how much can happen in one year, how at the moment it feels like it’ll never end and yet it always does. Just her last birthday she was on a party boat in Ibiza, but she still loves this quieter birthday as much as that one. She takes a moment just to feel blessed by her memories, her experiences before she leans over and plays race cars with her nephew. Hours later, her and her parents leave with left over lasagne, heading home to call it a night. She stays up for most of it, sketching the farm as she gazes out her bedroom window.

She always draws or paints if she’s stuck on a song, which she currently is. She has the beginnings of it, a few notes to play with but the middle is alluding her. This behaviour carries onto the next day, where she sleeps until a ridiculous time in the afternoon and then spends the evening, through to the night painting her bedroom walls white. She just wants a large canvass to work with, and it seems like the perfect opportunity. What she didn’t plan for was waiting for it to dry, meaning she can’t draw or paint on it for hours. She hits the hay around five in the morning, still covered with paint.

When the next morning arrives, Friday, Beth is awoken by a sharp trilling of the phone downstairs. She groans, feeling like she's been sleeping for five minutes. Her room stinks of paint, making her regret not cracking her windows open wider during the night. Peeling her sticky eyelids apart, she rolls out of bed, stomach cramping and the phone still ringing through the house. Her parents must be out by the barn if they haven’t grabbed it yet. The bright light punching her in the eyes tells her it’s at least after eight.

Tripping down the stairs, she catches her hand on the wall before she trips and rips the phone out of the cradle. “Jax, if you ask me if we’re goin’ out tonight I will strangle you.”

There’s a prolonged silence and then an amused voice filters over the receiver. “Whoever Jax is, I hope your unrestrained violence doesn’t extend to your new boss.”

Beth flushes all over, pinpointing the voice. “Michonne…?” She falters, her barely functioning brain horrifyingly blank as she tries to dredge up Michonne’s surname. Then it latches onto something else. “New boss?”

That same warm amusement colours Michonne’s voice, and Beth can picture her dark eyes shining with mirth. “That would be me. I would have kept my professional tone with you but I think we’re past that. How’s Monday sound to you?”

She flounders, trying to wake up and snap to alertness. “S-sorry, you caught me unaware. Monday’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

Now that’s she’s fully processing, it hits her square in her chest. _She got the job_.

“You’re welcome,” Michonne answers, sounding distracted as someone shouts her on the other end. “Sorry, Ms Greene, I’ll have to cut this short.”

“Beth,” she interjects. “Ms Greene makes me sound old.”

Michonne snorts a little and Beth smiles. She liked the woman when she met her during her interview, but she’s warming to her by the second. “Beth, speak soon.”

“Thank you again.”

They disconnect and Beth hurries to dial Jax’s number, the one she hasn’t changed since she first got it. Her best friend answers on the sixth ring. “Beth I’m at wo-”

“I got the job, an’ we’re goin’ out.”

Jax squeals down the line. “Meet me downtown at five an’ we’ll head to my place. Oh God, I’ve gotta call the guys!”

Beth laughs, excitement whipping through her. All her uncertainties seem to be falling into place and she’s happy to let them. “You go. I’ve got some stuff to do my end too.”

Finishing off their conversation and hanging up the phone, Beth hurries back up the stairs and then stops in her doorway, eyes drawn by Daryl’s scrawled number on the crumpled paper. Swallowing softly, she hurries past it for her clothes, taking them with her to the bathroom. She’s a little dismayed to find her time of the month has snuck upon her, but determined not to let it sour her good mood. After a shower and teeth brushing, she dresses and pins her wet hair up. Doesn’t doubt herself when she snatches Daryl’s number off the bedside table. Stuffing it into her back pocket, she hurries down the stairs.

At the bottom, she pulls her converse on and snaps up one of her jackets. Back to the kitchen she flies, pleased to find the car keys. Her parents must have walked to wherever they are. She snags them and trips her way out of the house. She’s unbelievably giddy, dizzy with all her new possibilities. She’s doing it. She’s stepping on the ladder of her career, bringing in money, shaping her future. Travelling was the highlight of her existence, college the close second but she’s ready for an adventure in her little home town, ready to lay roots and really kick start her life. She’s surprised to find her parents on the porch, sharing tea but she supposes they wouldn’t have heard the phone.

A fond smile steals across her lips. Watching her parents together has been the best part of Beth’s upbringing. The pure, strong love they have for each other. Quietly defiant and completely full of bliss. She wants that for herself someday, wants to feel safe and offer safety in measure. There’s never been anyone in her life that she’s wanted to give that to before. Never anybody she got too attached too. Daryl is something else. The crush she’s had on him since her impressionable teenage years is still there, raging stronger with their interactions, in the presence of him.

He’s something powerful and potent, something heady she wants to keep finding herself around. He’s handsome, of course and the lust is strong with them, the attraction undeniably. That’s what scares her. Can she ever find someone she really wants to keep around forever, if they begin with sex? Lust that keeps them bed bound and then the horrible realisation that there’s nothing else behind it? She would like to think Daryl is different, that he makes her laugh, that he leaves her intrigued but every interaction with them has been laden with attraction. Like every conversation was just a step to the end goal.

She doesn’t want to feel those fears, not when he’s been so sweet with her, telling her it’s up to her what happens, and where they go. He’s given her all the power, free reigns to dictate so why isn’t that enough for her? Truthfully, she’s just terrified by the potent chemistry they have, a minefield of feeling she doesn’t know how to navigate.

“Good mornin’, darlin’,” her mama speaks, startling her.

Beth smiles with distraction, hurrying down the porch steps and stroking her mother’s cardigan covered shoulder. “Mornin’, Mama. Daddy.”

He tips his chin, a smile warm on his lips. “You look happy, doodlebug,” he inflicts her childhood name upon her but she finds she doesn’t mind today.

“I am, Daddy. I got the job.” A wild, toothy smile spreads across her face.

The same smile decorates her fathers. “I knew you could do it, sweetheart.”

“Oh, we’re so proud of you,” her mama coos, standing to hug her daughter.

In her mother’s embrace, Beth lets her eyes close for a moment, inhales her mama’s scent. There’s nothing quite like a hug from her mama. They pull away and Beth shakes the keys. “Can I steal the car? I wanted to head downtown. Jax wants to celebrate tonight.”

“You really should invest in your own, Bethy,” her father answers not unkindly as he stands from the porch with his mug.

“I know, I will when I cash some pay checks.” She answers as she hurries to hug her father.

They de-tangle and he looks at her with a raised brow. “Do you have no savings left?”

“Of course,” she flushes ridicously, hesitating now as she debates mentioning her plans for it. “I- I’m gonna talk to you guys when I get a chance.” It feels like a big deal, talking about moving out, different from going off to college and travelling the world, more permanent and she only just got them back. “Tomorrow, okay?”

Her mama strokes her cheek. “Okay, sweetheart. You have a good day an’ be safe.”

“I will,” Beth promises as she heads to the car.

Twenty minutes, and an extra five dedicated to parking later, she’s pulling into the same shopping mall where she bumped into Daryl those short weeks ago, even though it feels like months. The first thing she does is head to the phone shop. The sales assistant helps her pick something simple out, she’s not too fussed by mobiles. The moment she’s purchased and set it up, she programs Daryl’s number in. Jax’s goes next and then her parents’ home phone from memory. Three contacts. She shoots a text to Jax to let her know this is her new number, and then she hovers over Daryl’s name, wondering if she should do the same.

Clearing her throat, she detours into a Starbucks and orders a latte, takes a seat in the quiet café, still staring at his number. The background music is a song she recognises, makes her flush as she keeps looking at Daryl’s programmed name. _No need to imagine, because I know it’s true. They say all good boys go to heaven, but bad boys bring heaven to you. It’s automatic, it’s just what they do._ Dear God, the irony. Still staring at his name, licks of flames dance up her rib cage as she remembers him inside her, fucking her, squeezing her. His lips, his fingers, his words. His need. Painted all over his face.

Swallowing, she finally presses call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and if you are on Tumblr, feel free to follow me. I'm leighj11 :).


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys.
> 
> So, wow. Did everyone see Sunday/Monday (depending if you're in the UK or not) TWD ep? I won't write spoilers incase you haven't but since my heart is hurting, I thought I'd update. Live peacefully in fic 😭 
> 
> Can't wait to see your comments, and to share so much more with you guys! I have another four chapters pre-written, and about three outlined! 
> 
> So many plans and so much to share ☺

“Yeah?”

The sound of Daryl’s voice on the other end is like a hit to Beth's lungs. Air struggles through her lips as she stares at her coffee cup. How does his voice sound like pure sex? Gravely and low, husky. How pathetic is she? He literally said one word.

“Daryl,” she greets back, trying to alleviate the dryness of her throat by clearing it alone, her coffee too hot to drink yet. “It’s Beth.”

“Beth.” The way he shapes her name is something she hasn’t heard someone do in all her years of living.

Her phone vibrates against her ear, startling her. Must be Jax responding to her text. “Hey,” she mummers softly, her heart fluttering in her chest. “I er, got a phone,” she provides pointlessly.

“An’ you finally called me,” he answers just as softly, a hint of amusement there like he’s smiling. “Been danglin' on a hook over here.”

She finds herself smiling back, fiddling with the sleeve on her coffee cup. “So _soon_ wasn’t soon ‘nough for you, huh?”

“Was jus' hopin' there was gonna be a soon. Thought you might not call.” There’s something there she hasn’t heard before – vulnerability.

Swallowing, she avoids eye contact with the barista at the till, glancing down at her table. “Well, I guess I jus’ wanted y'to have my number.” She provides lamely, not knowing how to respond to him.

“Coulda text me,” he supplies, not rude but prodding, letting her avoid what he said, and searching for a reason behind her calling.

 _I wanted to hear your voice_ , is a stupid, irrational thing to be thinking so she doesn’t say it. “I...” She falters. God, why is she so bad at this?

“Go out with me,” Daryl suddenly shoots off, his voice quick and unsure.

Beth blinks into space. “Like... Like a date?”

“D'you wanna date?”

Her heart bangs against her chest, fingers shaking so bad she doesn’t attempt to raise her cup, even though she thinks her coffee would have cooled somewhat by now. “Would... Would you be okay with us goin’ slow?”

There’s a pause on the other end and she tenses, wondering if it’s a deal breaker. “Was it when I grabbed y' throat? I knew I-"

“Daryl,” she interjects, mortified that she’s made him feel this way. “Don’t do that. I just wanna know there’s somethin' real there. Cause’a how this started.” She says pointedly, once again glancing at the brunette barista who seems a little too interested in her conversation.

Daryl blows out a breath. “We can go slow as y' want, long as y' always promise me you’ll say somethin’. Say somethin’ if I hurt you, or upset you, or you wanna say no.”

Beth frowns at the almost violent way he asks it of her, like it’s truly, soul deep important to him. She wonders if he’s always been like that, or if something changed him. “I promise.”

There’s another release of breath, a relieved one. “Look. I gotta go, m'sorry, still at work.”

A pang of disappointment twinges in her stomach. “Oh, yeah, no course. Sorry, I didn’t think.” She wants to tell him she got her own job today, and that she's recently celebrated her birthday, but she doesn’t want to keep him. “Text me when you can?”

“You got it, Greene. Gotta plan that date.”

An aching smile sticks to her face. “Lookin' forward to it. Bye, Daryl.”

“Bye, Beth.”

The line disconnects and she pulls the phone from her face, blowing out a breath. There’s a text from Jax there.

**J: Lunch is at 12. You in town now?**

**B: Yeah, Starbucks by the Yankee store. Meet me here?**

**J: Order me a mocha, I’m on my way.**

Beth doesn’t text back, returning instead to the counter to order Jax’s drink. By the time she’s finished her own, and ordered another one, Jax's is cool enough for her to drink when she steps into the cafe shortly after. They share a hug, Jax's skin cold against hers, smelling like fresh air.

They pull apart and take their seats, Beth letting Jax sip her coffee before she says, “d’you ring the guys?”

Jax nods, hugging her coffee cup. “Yep. They’re all broke. S'just us, if I’m not too borin' for you.” She teases.

Beth rolls her eyes, blowing on her new, hot drink. “Just like old times then.”

“I’ll toast to that.” Jax grins, lifting her cup. Beth rolls her eyes once more and they tap coffee cups. “So, new job? The one you wanted?”

Beth nods, that same excitement thrumming through her. “Which means I can get serious ‘bout movin' out.”

“What'd your folks think ‘bout that?” Jax asks, blowing at the hole in her coffee cup lid before taking an experimental sip.

“Told ‘em I wanna talk tomorrow. Once I do, I’m gonna call for a viewin’. Hope it’s still there.” Beth bites on her bottom lip, watching her friend unwind her scarf.

“Should be fine. You’ll be further from me though.” Jax pouts her cherry red, bottom lip.

“You got a place?” Beth asks. She can’t believe she didn’t think to ask before.

Jax rolls her eyes. “Nah. I’m still with Mama an' Jimmy. Can’t afford it.” Beth raises her brow and when she doesn’t speak, Jax finally laughs, lightly nudging her across the table. “Why do I know you’re picturin’ teenage us makin' plans to live together?”

“Wouldn’t it be awesome, though?” Beth encourages, excited by this new idea and holding onto it. “The place I’m lookin' at has two rooms. I was gonna have a studio but it’s a bedroom. We could split the rent.”

Jax's eyes spark with interest. “Are you serious? Beth, like _serious_? ‘Cause I really am goin' crazy round my mama an' Jimmy.”

“So serious!” Beth exclaims. “Oh, Jax, c'mon, remember those plans we had!”

Jax grins against her coffee lid, leaving a red smudge of lipstick. “You’d paint your masterpieces on the wall. I’d cook. There’d be a piano.”

Beth’s grin stretches as she imagines it. “The minute I saw the bathroom walls, I knew exactly what I'd paint. A mermaid. ‘Member my art project? That, bu’ better! Bigger rocks, brighter hair!” Beth gushes.

Jax’s smile softens. “I loved that piece. I still have a poloriod of it.”

“That’s great! I let the school have my original copy. I could use it to work from.”

Jax gives her dubious but keen eyes of slitted grey. “I dunno. S'a risk. What if we fight?”

“Why would we?” Beth asks, leaning forward in her chair. “We both work. I’m plannin' to travel some more, some time in the next year. We both love pets. I can’t cook, you can. You hate decoratin', I got it. C'mon, Jax, this could be awesome. I could handle the rent on my own but your input would be huge, an' you get out of your mama’s house.”

Beth drinks her coffee while Jax debates before she shakes her head. “I must be crazy. Show me the veiwin'.’

Squealing, Beth hurriedly puts her coffee cup down and retrieves her phone from the table. Bringing up the page she has memorised, she passes the phone over to Jax for her perusal. Her friend takes the object, manicured nails curling around the screen.

After a moment of her scrolling and swiping, she looks up with a grin. “Do you think they’ll have a viewing this afternoon?”

Beth bites her lip, hesitating now where excitement was before. “I kinda wanted to tell my parents that I was thinkin' ‘bout movin' before I did any viewin’s.”

Jax blows out a breath, though her hair is up today so it doesn’t ruffle her usual wayward curls. “It's just a veiwin’, Beth. We're not makin’ any decisions. We gotta talk ‘bout house rules, a deposit, all kinds of stuff.”

“I dunno...”

“Beth!” Jax laughs with exasperation. “You convinced me to move in with you! Don’t backtrack on me now. I’ll beg off work an' we'll go see it.”

She shakes her head slowly, a smile growing. “You always talk me into stuff! Lemme call ‘em, see if they’ve got a cancellation.”

“Yes! You do that, an' I’m gonna run to the bathroom.”

It turns out they do have a cancellation, for the next twenty minutes, so when Jax gets back, they hurry off. The apartment is a fifteen minute walk away, which they make while chatting about Jax's current job, and Beth's old one.

When they arrive, the find the woman showing them around is a tiny, blonde lady with a wholesome smile. “Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Leila, an' I'll be showin’ ya'll ‘round today. Shall we?” She indicates the doors.

Beth takes an excited step towards the dark, heavy double front doors of the apartment building and smiles at Jax, and Leila. They enter into a hallway, where they discover there’s a total of six apartments in the whole building. The apartment they’re viewing is on the top floor, the fifth one.

The front door opens into an airy, empty living space, a set of balcony doors the first thing Beth spots. Breathless, she swings the oak doors open onto a stunning garden view.

"Wow." She turns back and addresses the room after drinking it in.

Leila smiles. “Do y'like it? It’s the best part if you ask me.”

“It’s gorgeous! Jax, come look.”

Jax wonders over, eyes calculating. The kitchen is open plan, very small compared to the living space, and her best friend seems to be sizing it up. “Not very big over there, huh?”

"There's facilities downstairs to deal with laundry,” Leila supplies smoothly.

Smirking, Beth bounces her brow at Jax, who raises hers right back. _She's good_ , they communicate silently. Upon further inspection, they find a slim bathroom, decorated in black and white fashion.

Beth trails her fingers over the blank walls. “Can we paint?”

“Oh yes, an' we’re pet friendly too.” Leila supplies, clutching a briefcase close to her stocking clad legs.

From the bathroom they explore the two bedrooms, both large spaces suitable for the two women to be equally happy. The cupboards are clean, the windowsill unmarked. Jax makes a show of pushing doors back and forth to see how much they squeak, and tapping glass panes in the window.

She lets her friend get on with it, occasionally conversing with Leila before Jax finally gives in with her inspection.

Glancing at Beth, she shrugs indifferently but she can tell Jax is excited. “Let’s talk fees.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, I'm leighj11 on Tumblr. I'm getting more into it so come and say hi! I don't bite 😎


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half terrified/half excited to see the finale tomorrow. Most daunting of all is avoiding the spoilers ALL DAY until I can watch it on the evening. It's already making me edgy so I thought I'd upload today. Just incase it's something horrific and we all need a distraction. 
> 
> Hope you like! And as an fyi, I wrote up to chapter twenty one today, guys! SO many plans!!

When they’re done with the viewing, it’s nearly two in the afternoon, so Beth and Jax head back into town to start shopping. Beth treats herself further while they’re looking around town, snagging herself several nice new pairs of jeans. Jax purchases some make up and when they’re both done, they make their way to Beth’s borrowed car. The rest of the afternoon dwindles away and Beth finds herself smiling so much her face hurts. Jax has always been a best friend that, no matter how much time has passed, they could pick their friendship up right where they left it.

She’s annoyed at herself for alienating Jax when she first got home, worried she was too different to slide back into their easy way. If today has taught her anything though, it’s that they’re still the same best friends from childhood, the same goofy kids at heart. First, the pair head to the farm so Beth can throw a duffle together, and personally ask Mama if she can keep the car longer. After her Mama fusses over Jax being a grown girl, and embaresses the life out of Beth, they return to her best friends house. It's empty, as her own mama is on a night shift at the hospital and Jimmy is out with friends.

Music playing, pre-drinks flowing, laughter spiralling, they spend the evening talking and getting ready. Just after eight o’clock, Beth checks in with her parents to wish them goodnight. Slightly tipsy, her and Jax link arms and walk to the local pub, which Beth is pleased to find has been refurbished over the years. It’s still a little tacky, but there’s small, round tables and high stools.

“Cocktails?” Jax beams with slightly glassy eyes as they take their seat.

“Oh, hell yeah!” Beth hoots, realising she may be a little bit more intoxicated than she originally thought.

Giggling, her friend totters off in thigh high heels, her short dress catching the wandering eye of every male she passes. Beth shakes her head to herself, glancing down with slightly blurred eyes to her phone, where she shoots off a misspelled text to Daryl.

**B: Kindas drunk. Whatt you doingh handsome?**

Even intoxicated, she realises she’s more than likely going to regret that in the morning. If she’s totally honest with herself, it’s a lot easier to type things than say them to his face, and the alcohol can be blamed at some point too.

**D: be careful, beth call me if you need me**

**D: have a good night**

Beth frowns at her phone. Well if that’s not a dismissal, she doesn’t know what is. Her mind tries to wrack itself to what it is she’s done wrong but then Jax is back with cocktails and an entourage of eyes.

“You are so pullin’ tonight,” Beth tells her friend as she takes her cocktail, sipping at the flavour of Jax’s choosing. “Oooh, nice. Vodka?”

“Oh, yes my friend,” Jax beams, her dark painted lips stretching wide. She proffers her glass. “To movin’ in together!”

They clink glasses and then Beth doesn’t really know where the night goes after that. They drink and dance, Jax flirts with a different guy every five minutes and they slip out occasionally so Jax can smoke. Then the whole thing repeats. Drink, dance, smoke. Drink, dance, and smoke until suddenly its closing time and people are clearing out, looking for the next party. Beth and Jax stumble out, Beth’s heels swinging by her fingers after coming off her feet twenty minutes ago. The cold air makes her foggy head a little clearer but she still stumbles to the rink of cabs with Jax.

“Hey! Gorgeous girl, where you goin’!?”

Beth and Jax glance back to see the favourite of Jax’s flirts for the night, a handsome guy who looks about their age with a square jaw. “You talkin’ to me?” Jax giggles, clutching his arm as he approaches.

Rolling her eyes, Beth flags a car down as the two of them chat. One finally pulls up but when she opens the car door, her friend is pressing keys into her fist. “Y’mind f’I go back with Sam?”

“Who’s Sam?” Beth asks and then flirty boy raises his hand with a stupid grin. “Oh.” She blinks, sobering up a little more. “Sure, y’re a grown girl. You go on.”

Jax teeters on her heels, wicked thick winged eyeliner smudged a little with sweat. “I owe y’ one, Bethy!”

Still holding the cab door open, she nods at it. “Y’ guys get in, I’ll get the next one.”

“Y’friend’s a class girl!” Sam says, gleefully throwing himself in the back.

Jax smiles sloppily, giving Beth a big hug before she gets in the back. They have a quick conversation about Beth’s welfare waiting on her own but then finally the cab is pulling off and Beth is left on the corner. Clutch and heels in hand, she takes her phone from her pocket, her addled mind telling her to call Daryl. She’s been to his place, she could just turn up there but it’s late and it’s rude. Still, she doesn’t want to go back to Jax’s empty place and she would rather stay close than go home, otherwise she’ll be back at Jax’s tomorrow getting the car and her stuff. While she debates, she wanders down the street, aimlessly walking to keep warm, hovering over the call button.

Finally, she presses it and when the line picks up the first thing she blurts out is, “why s’you so mean t’ me earlier?”

“Beth? S’… three am.” Daryl’s husky, sleep ruined voice shoots across the space between them, zinging down the phone line and directly into Beth’s ear.

“I know.” She slurs a little. “Soz.”

“Mean t’you?” He offers when she doesn’t continue speaking.

“Yeah,” she pouts, even though he can’t see her. “You was jus’ like be careful, have a nice time.”

“What an’ y’ wanted me to text y’all night? Badger you? Ain’t the kinda guy I am, girl.”

Opening her mouth, trying to process, she realises she has no argument. What’s her problem? He wishes her a good night and safety, and she wants him to hound her on text instead? Be interested in her all the time? She knows if he had text her saying that he was out, she would have done the same. Well, she would have wanted to do that but in other instances she’s always text her boyfriend, always had them texting her, like they couldn’t be trusted to be out alone. She must be truly wrecked if she’s picking a fight over nothing, with a guy she only agreed to date today. God, she’s such an embarrassing kid compared to him.

Beth pauses on the street and looks up at the moon, listening to Daryl’s silence. “M’sorry. I’ve had a drink an’ I think m’bein’ a dick.”

Daryl laughs with clear alertness, like he sat up in bed. “Where r’you girl? You home safe, now?”

“Erm,” she hesitates, looking around the dark streets. “I just got outta the bar with Jax an’ she ditched. I’m kinda… stranded?” She poses it as a question, because if she really had to, she could get home or go to Jax’s, but she’s still a little drunk and she wants to see him.

He huffs a groan, springs squeaking behind him as if he’s started to climb out of his bed. “Where are y’?”

“Downtown by…” She glances around again. “The library,” she finally supplies as she takes a casual seat on the curb.

“Gimme ten. Stay put.”

“Yes, Sir,” she giggles and hears his amused, if not exasperated laugh on the other side.

“Stay put, Greene. B’ there soon.”

“See you soon!”

Pulling her phone from her ear, she grouses to herself at the time before looking around abandoned downtown. It’s so late it’s like a ghost town, nothing but a still wind and silence. She tries not to freak herself out but her eyes are continuously drawn by the empty buildings and ominous shadows. The moon is full and glowing though, breaking through the dense clouds that try to obscure it. Beth smiles to herself. No matter how many times she’s tried to take that moon to her sketch pad, or a blank canvas, she’s never been able to truly capture its beauty. A rustle by her feet startles her, and she looks down to find a black cat with jade green eyes.

“Hello pretty girl,” she whispers, so as not to disturb the atmosphere, hesitantly bending at the knees; dropping both her heels and clutch to reach out her fingers.

The cat presses its small, black nose to Beth’s fingers, sniffing curiously before rubbing its head against the side of her hand. Smiling wider, Beth bends all the way down until she’s on her haunches, stroking her fingers through the purring cats fur.

“I think you’re a girl, right? You look too pretty to be a boy lil’ miss.” The cat glances up at her, eyes split wide and so, so green. “I’m gonna paint your eyes when I getta chance. They’re so damn pretty.”

The cat meows and it convinces Beth to sit on her ass on the curb, encouraging the little kitty to climb into her lap for fuss. When Daryl pulls up, that’s how he finds her, though the cat shoots away when his engine dies.

“Hey! We we’re becomin’ friends an’ y’ just skipped out on me!? Hussy!”

“Greene?” Daryl calls through his lowered window.

Beth glances at him with wide eyes, her sobering brain telling her she might just look a little bit nuts. “Yeah?”

He shakes his head and laughs under his breath, like he can’t quite understand her. “Get in the cab an’ leave y’ friends out there.”

She pouts as she grabs her stuff, rounds the hood and clumsily pulls open the passenger door, hauling herself in. “ _Clearly_ we’re not friends.”

Daryl snorts and she crosses her arms over her chest after dropping her things between them on the seat. “Stop pickin’ on me,” she whines.

“Wow, y’really r’ pissed.” He laughs as he takes the wheel again.

Looking across the cab, Beth lightly punches his arm. “Shull’up. I go'lla job t'day!”

His shakes his head at her erratic behaviour, glancing in his mirrors before pulling out into the road. “Looks like I need t’get you tucked up in bed.”

Rolling her head against the seat behind her, she smiles. “Your bed, right?”

“Yeah, Greene,” Daryl hums, his hand reaching across the seat for her own. “My bed.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating on the way to work from my phone because being an adult sucks & Graciemae asked 😋 and mostly because I can 🤸🏼(kinda obssessed with the cartwheel emoji lately - you would have noticed if you follow me on Tumblr & if you don't- leighj11) 💕

It takes two seconds. Two seconds between Daryl unlocking the door, them stepping inside and sharing one, hot look. Then they’re kissing. Hot, heavy kissing full of bravado she wouldn’t have sober. Fingers in hair and body pressed flush against his, hips rocking. They trip their way to the same kitchen counter he fucked her on. The same counter of which he deposits her on after picking her up.

Moaning softly, Beth pulls away from Daryl’s lips with a staggering chest, enraptured by his swollen lips. “Wait, wait, wait!” She presses her fingers against Daryl’s questing mouth, blocking his kisses.

He pulls back, looking embarrassed. “Shit, y’said you wanna go slow an’ I ain’t listenin'. An’ y’ had a drink an’ I’m pawin’ at y li-"

“What?” She cuts of his rambling with a frown, until she remembers she did ask if they can go slow. Cheeks heating as she dismisses what a hussy she is around him, she clarifies. “I’m... erm, I know I said that, but I _wanna_ , I mean, even if...” She flounders, feeling like a moron. “I’m actually... _on._ ”

Daryl looks confused for a moment before realisation dawns. Beth tenses as she prepares for him to pull away, for the awkward silence but he surprises her, as he always does. “Shit, an' I was squeezin’ all your waist an' stuff. Didn’t hurt you did I?”

“Oh,” Beth murmurs, trying to process his reaction. “No, not at all. I just, y'know, _can’t_.” He nods like he’s already brushed it off, which she tries not to take offense to but she's a little emotional. “Wow, don’t fight too hard.”

Rolling his eyes, he strokes her hip with his thumb. “You’re probably crampin' to fuck an’ havin’ my dick in you ain’t gonna make you feel better.”

Blushing, she glances away when she replies, “why you so calm? Guys usually freak out over this stuff.”

Beth looks back in time to watch him roll a shoulder, reaching up to play with the ends of her hair. She pretends like that doesn’t give her shivers. “Been ‘round Lori for years. Kinda desensitized now.”

Laughing, she presses her hands to his belly softly. “She's scary at the best of times.”

Daryl fakes a shudder. “Tell me ‘bout it.”

A silence settles for a moment and despite knowing she can’t do anything to fix it, need thrums through her whole body. She squirms in frustration, her hands eagerly dragging down Daryl’s body until she reaches his belt buckle. He looks down at her with eyes of renewed shrunken desire but twitches his hips back with a shake of his head.

So he’s trying to tease her, huh? Quickly, she yanks on his fly, rapidly tugging down his jeans and underwear at the same time. His cock springs free, thick and semi-hard. Beth marvels in his girth for a moment, throat swollen closed at the reminder that it’s been _inside her_.

Just before she can reach it, he beats her hand away and tucks himself back into his jeans. “Girl, I cain’t. Y’re pissed as hell.”

“ _Please_ ,” she whines, scrabbling for him.

Daryl shakes his head, blocking her advances. “Girl, m’serious. I said no. Liste’ when you say no, liste’ when I do.”

She swallows and nods. He’s right. If she said no, she would be pissed if he kept trying and she should pay him the same respect. She’s sober enough to know that.

"Sorry,” she whispers with hot cheeks. “M’sorry, Daryl, I wouldn’t force y’.”

He strokes her cheek; presses a kiss to her forehead. “C’mon, wanna get to bed?”

Nodding, she sways a little, ready to hop off the counter but her head rocks before her body and quite suddenly she’s throwing up. All over Daryl. Her sobering brain is dying in embarrassment, but her queasy belly is chucking up more and more. Daryl, to his credit just rubs her back soothingly, helping her bring it up, even though it’s all over him and his floor.

When she’s finally done, shaking with streaming eyes, she glances up at him and finds his patient face. “Y’good?”

“I’m _so_ sorry,” she moans in mortification.

He shakes his head. “C’mon, girl, let’s get y’up the stairs.”

After that, she kind of just lets him help out her slouching body. Beth would have thought throwing up would make her feel less drunk, but if anything she feels more dizzy and out of control. She’s barely an aid in helping wash her face, letting Daryl take a warm face towel to her grubby skin, wiping the sick and the make-up.

Her jeans come off when her eyes are drooping and before she knows it, she’s laying down as he tucks her in and falling asleep. At some point she feels Daryl get into bed, smelling like clean soap, his chest bare. He curls around her and she slips back into warm, safe unconscious.

* * *

“Oh my sweet Lord, my _head_ ,” Beth groans.

Eyes blinking open, she takes stock of her surroundings. Daryl’s bed. Again. Although she definitely has no plans to sneak out this time. Turning her head to look at her bed companion, she finds Daryl’s slack mouth and twitching eyelids. His yummy bare chest. She stares for a blessed moment.

Until he grumbles in his sleep, pawing at his pillow half conscious with thick, bunching biceps. Beth holds her breath as she lifts the blanket ever so slowly and begins to slip her bare legs out of the bed.

“Sneakin’ out on me ‘gain?” Daryl’s rough, hoarse voice asks.

Oh sweet Jesus. Beth jumps out of her skin and grabs a pillow as his eyes start opening. “Don’t look at me! You’ve never seen me in the mornin’, an’ I have sick breath!”

She nearly tumbles the rest of the way out of the bed, bringing up the pillow so it blocks her face as Daryl laughs from the other side of the mattress. “Beth, c’mon, sure my breath ain’t too good right now neither.”

“I mean it, Mr! Close your eyes!” She shouts as she stumbles around the bed frame, hurrying for the door. “Lemme assess the damage then you can see me ‘gain.”

Daryl snorts. “Yeah but y’ goin’ in-“

“Two seconds!” She cuts over him as she successfully slips out of the door.

When it’s shut, she tips her head against it for a moment and cradles the pillow with a sigh. Oh, it’s all coming back to her now. How embarrassing. Cringing, she realises in that horrifying instant she just exited into the hall when the bathroom is Daryl’s on suite. To get there she has to go through his room.

Lifting the pillow, she hurries back in and answers, “yeah, yeah,” just as he finishes with “-t’ wrong direction.”

Peeking at him over the pillow, she huffs at how gorgeous he looks when he’s just woken up too. “Now that’s what I mean, that’s jus’ rude,” she mutters as she grabs the knob of the door. “Oh, shit, I need my clutch.”

Still hiding, she turns to go back the way she came but then Daryl grunts and she peaks to see him roll out of bed. “I got it.”

“Thanks,” Beth smiles with flush cheeks, still using the pillow as a screen between them so he can only see her eyes.

Letting herself admire him for a brief moment, she finds herself salivating at his rippling muscles. God, what a man. When he slips out of the bedroom door, she slips in the bathroom one. Hurrying to the mirror, Beth inspects the damage. Foundation is non-existent, mascara smudged into panda eyes and remnants of dried drool.

Oh, _please_ say he didn’t get a good look at her. She sets to work on washing her face but then decides she needs a whole shower to fix herself into something half decent. Turning it on, she first quickly uses the toilet before flushing and stripping.

The door knocks and then Daryl’s voice follows. “Got y' purse.”

Cracking the door open, she hides behind it and blindly sticks her hand out. “Thanks, Daryl.”

Snorting, he presses it into her grasp. “Lemme know f' need anythin’ else.”

“Maybe a t-shirt?” Beth asks the crack in the door.

“This stealin' habit's gettin’ serious, Greene.”

Laughing, Beth pulls her hand back as she begins to shut the door again. “Get used to it.” _Kinda plannin' to stick around_ , she adds to herself silently.

With the door shut and her clutch on the side, she finally turns to the bathtub and steps into the embrace of hot, streaming water. Grabbing shampoo, she first scrubs it through her greasy hair after a night of sweaty dancing. After, she uses Daryl's body wash for a good, thorough clean up, and then climbs out; turning the shower back off. From the rack, she grabs two towels, using one to wrap around herselfl and taking another for her hair.

Stepping towards the mirror, she catches a whiff of herself and has to share a private smile with her own reflection. She smells exactly like him. With her second towel in hand, she takes to drying her hair and then pops her clutch to seek a tampon. Blushing ridiculously, as if Daryl knows what she's doing, she quickly finishes up and then looks in the mirror again.

After a long, hard look, she decides to call this one a bust. She looks horrendous. Sweet mother of mercy, _why_? With no toothbrush available, she does a horrific finger scrub with toothpaste and swills her mouth out. Grimacing at her mirror image, Beth decides no more can be done about it and throws her hair towel in the hamper, leaving her wet hair to air dry. Well, there's nothing else she can use to procrastinate.

Cautiously, she turns the lock on the bathroom door, cracking it open an inch. Daryl is still in bed, lounging against the headboard with a cigarette. Beth watches him for a moment, wondering at how much and how little she knows of him.

When he glances up at her, the corner of his mouth tips. “So, not sneakin' out, huh?"

Rolling her eyes, Beth approaches the bundle of clothing on the bottom of the bed. “Y' never gonna let that one go, huh?”

“Natta chance,” he remarks smugly, flicking the ash of his cigarette into the ashtray on his bedside table.

She flicks her eyes up at him as she finds his boxers and picks them up. “For me?”

“Thought you’d want summat fresh, ain’t gotta wear ‘em. Kinda hot f' you do though.” He grins.

Beth grins back at him. He’s so infectious. She thinks she might be dangerously obsessed with him as it is. She can’t handle the blinding smiles in bed with him half naked on top of that. She turns her back as she drops her towel.

He had began to tut when she turned but it whistles out into a curse when the towel falls. “ _Dammit_ , Beth.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one was SO FUN to write!! Hope you enjoyed this one & the next one just as much!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating early because I'm celebrating! 
> 
> I've outlined the whole of this fic this afternoon and we're looking to finish on between 28-30 chapters. I've also confirmed to myself that I'm going for the sequel which has got 3 chapters outlined. Very, very exciting. I've never done a squeal before but its name also jumped out at me right away which means it needs to be written. I don't expect it will be particularly long when it does come around but we shall see! 
> 
> I have a one shot half written, and a couple of half formed ideas for a fic or two when I get the time to hash them out. I love feeling inspired! 
> 
> Also, currently reading SquishyCool's 'picking @ scabs' which is very real, raw and stunning. Go have a read, seriously. I'm getting right back to it after this upload!

Smirking, a hot flush burns through her chest. It's almost pride at her own daring. The things he does to her. The confidence he brings her. _Infectious_ , she confirms to herself as she slides his boxers up her legs and settles them on her hips. She's never worn boxers before, let alone ones that belong to someone she’s sleeping with. It's thrilling for a reason she can’t explain.

So is Daryl’s voice. “Turn ‘round. Gimme a break.”

Heart rabbiting in her throat, she’s positive she hasn’t got the balls but somehow, some way, her feet twist on the spot until she’s facing him. His boxers, bare chest and face, wet hair, breasts on display. She's never felt so exposed.

“Beth,” he grinds out and she really, _really_ wishes she could climb in his lap and ride him.

A hot fire stings her cheeks, her voice squeaky when she forms words. “Why y'lookin' at me like that?”

“’Cause y'want me too, an’ that’s hot as fuck,” he answers boldly, his hot eyes setting her alight.

“Yeah?” She asks shakily, sure the flush is burning her torso like wild fire. “What d’I want you t' do now?”

Smirking, Daryl rolls his shoulders. “Summat you ain't ready for.”

Beth cocks her brow, her intrigue nearly enough to make her forget she's topless. Nearly. “Oh, yeah? Care to share?”

Looking sinful, his eyes flare when he whispers, “fuck you. Right now.”

“Right now?” She puzzles. Why wouldn't she be ready for that? He waits and it clicks. The heat that sweeps her is ridiculous. “Despite...?”

Another smirk. “Like I said. Y'ain't ready f' that.”

Would she _ever_ be ready to fuck him on her period? She can barely express herself as it is. If she ever will be, it’s a _long_ way away. Shaking her head, she reaches for his t-shirt and slips it on.

One of the things Beth really likes about Daryl, is his ability to steer her when she flounders. “C'mere,” he whispers now.

The other thing, is the way he _looks_ at her. The things he makes her feel. He's so imposing, so mature, so much _more_ that it's awe inspiring. He makes her want to be amazing, to be the best she can be just to impress him. _How dangerous is that?_ She thinks as she approaches him. Is she obsessed? Infatuated? Or just half in love with him already?

Daryl hums under his breath as she reaches his side of the bed, his rough palms dancing up her thighs until she tingles all over. Reaching out to his shoulders, she grips them as a pleasant sound rides out of her mouth. How can one touch feel so _good_? His hands curl around her thighs, gently tugging and Beth follows. Soon, she finds herself straddling him, her cheeks hot and belly squirming.

He looks up at her, hands still on her thighs and eyes a little dazed. “Y'look way too good in my shirt. M'burnin' all your clothes.”

Beth laughs, trying to distract herself from his hard cock pressing into her thigh. “First you wanna take me shoppin', then you wanna destroy everythin’. Make up your mind,” she teases.

Daryl's hands run over her ass cheeks and her breath clutches in her throat. “I'd take naked over ‘em both.” Here, he flips the t-shirt up at the back and squeezes her boxer clad ass cheeks. “So _sexy.”_ He growls into her throat.

Hot tingles blast her skin, sweeping through her veins in a dizzying rush. _Screw_ her periods timing to the pits of hell. She wants him back inside her so bad she's breathless with it, nipples tight and chest straining.

“Daryl,” Beth whines softly, pressing her face to his hair, his lips still working her throat.

“Smell so fuckin’ good,” is all he grumbles back, teeth biting ever so softly. She whimpers and he does it again, her hips rocking a little. Daryl hisses sharply. “Y'like that?”

Pulling his head away, hands still on her ass, he takes her lips. Beth moans into the kiss, hands reaching to frame his face. As her skin comes into contact with his, he groans and reclines back against the headboard. She slides in his lap, his cock clipping her clit through her borrowed boxers. A gasp slips down Daryl's throat and he growls, detaching their lips.

“Y'trust me?” He asks raggedly, staring into her eyes.

Beth nods, her stomach a mess of knots. He smiles soothingly and reaches for the front of the boxers she's wearing.

She tenses. “Daryl! I'm _still_ -”

He holds her eyes again. “Trust me.”

Swallowing, she nods again and he pulls the fabric down until she's half exposed. The blush on her face is painfully hot but she can't look away from his eyes. Not until his other hand moves, rustling between them. She glances down and feels her heart give way. His cock is free now, thick and long. Taking a hold of himself, Beth watches as he guides the head of his cock to where she's exposed, nestling the tip of his shaft against her clit.

The world swims a little, the pre-cum on his tip smearing against her clit until she has to squeeze her eyes closed. Sweet Jesus. Her fingernails squeeze his shoulders, her breathing wild and shaky.

“Beth? You okay? You want me t' stop?” He asks, his face so close when she opens her eyes.

She shakes her head, swallowing again. “I-" _Come on, Beth._ “I... like it. _Really_ like it.”

“That's my girl,” he whispers back. “Watch us. Watch how good we look.”

Beth can only whimper as she looks down, the boxers tangled but quite clearly seeing her pussy lips spreading over the tip of his cock. His one hand is wrapped around the base while the other pushes down all the fabric in his way. Just the sight makes her feel cross eyed, but when he jerks his cock against her clit she trembles from head to toe.

“Oh _shit,_ ” she spits, not sure who she surprises more with the exclamation.

Apparently, it’s Daryl because his head jerks up and his eyes burn into her skull. “This's all I need t' do to make you react like _that?_ Mother _fuck_ , Beth.”

Panting, she tips her forehead against his, her face burning with desire and a smudge of embarrassment. In her head she’s chanting all sorts of things _. Please, more, faster,_ but all she manages for real is broken whimpers as Daryl’s cock head massages her clit. With her hands on his shoulders, she can slightly twitch her hips.

Any time she does though, she knocks their positioning and Daryl has to replace himself against her clit, so she remains still. Absorbing the pulses in her cunt, Daryl’s pre-cum making the roll of his cock head so much more delicious. Her breath blasts against his forehead, and she finds herself kissing his hair line, cupping his head to her chest.

Daryl’s own hot breath blows through the t-shirt of his she’s wearing, twisting her nipples into tight points that push out of the fabric. Groaning from his own view, Daryl’s hands tighten on Beth’s hips, using her still body to rock against her clit. Biting her lower lip, she lets her eyes flutter closed as her legs tighten with each shock of pleasure.

“Oh God, m’gonna… _Dary_ l.” Her mouth runs away with her, her whole body tense and desperate for release.

“C’mon girl,” Daryl grunts, his breath erratic and heart banging against hers.

Her spine curves further into itself as the orgasm weighs down on her, heavy and insistent, driven higher by the sounds Daryl is making. “ _There._ ”

As the word spits between her teeth, her orgasm tightens her body to extreme points of paralysis until she’s ramrod straight, crying out from the ripples in her cunt.

“Fuck me.” Beth’s eyes flutter open to Daryl’s face as he speaks, still shuddering with aftershocks. “ _Fuck me_ ,” he repeats, his eyes wild with desire.

A flush is burning through her but she’s too loose now to hold back. She takes his dick in hand, jerking as his cock head comes away from her sensitive clit. “Looks like someone didn’t finish.”

He cocks his brow at her, head rolling on his shoulders. Beth smiles, leaning forward to kiss him as she works her wrist on his straining cock. He always makes her feel good, and she wants to do the same for him. It’s not much longer until he’s jerking his hips up to meet her hand, their mouths detaching so he can tip his head back and groan.

Looking down, she flushes hot from head to toe when she finds his straining dick. Red and swollen, desperate for release just like she was. Her hand cups his face, her thumb stroking his cheek as she goes in for another kiss. His mouth opens for her immediately, their tongues dancing and his moans sliding down her throat.

Against her lips, he grunts, “Beth! Girl, m’gon- ah, _fuck.”_

Squeezing his shaft and using her thumb against his wet cock head, Beth looks down in time to see creamy white cum oozing in jerking spurts against Daryl’s stomach. She’s breathless as she watches, pumping at his dick just to watch it jerk and spasm as his orgasm pours out of him.

When his hand reaches for her wrist, his chest shuddering, Beth finally stops. Glancing up with a blazing face, she smiles a little self-consciously.

Daryl shakes his head weakly. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” She whispers quietly as she lays against his chest, not caring for his cum covered stomach.

Angling his head down to look at her, he reaches up with a shaking hand and strokes her hair from her burning cheeks. “Get embarrassed. Clam up. Tha’ was fuckin’ hot, Beth.”

Grinning, she nods her head, allowing herself this. “Really, really hot.”

Laughing softly, they cuddle for a little while, even closing their eyes to the point of nearly falling asleep. Beth is certainly on the ledge of unconsciousness when Daryl groans and stretches, lifting her where she’s sprawled over him.

Groaning herself, she cracks an eye open at him. “Mm, why you movin’?”

“C’mon, we’re gonna get some food.” He smiles crookedly, dancing his fingers down her arm.

“Breakfast?” She asks more enthusiastically, lifting her head to look up at him. “I ain’t much of a cook but I make mean French toast.”

Daryl grins, his eyes slightly blinded by the fringe of his hair. Beth resists the urge to swipe it away as she listens to his reply. “Yeah? I’d like me somma that, or we can go get summat in town?”

“In town?” She hesitates. This would be her first public outing with him. Acting like a couple... “Daryl?” She probes, her face already burning. _Just ask him_ , Lori encourages in her memories.

He frames her cheek with his large palm. “Wha's wrong? You er... don't wanna be seen wit’ me? ‘Cause,” he pauses to roll his shoulder. “Cause I'm older?”

Her throat aches a little at the vulnerability painting his face. It's not too often she sees this side of him. “Not at all. I can see who I want, Daryl. Which is what I was askin’...” She trails off, still struggling.

Continuing to frown, he doesn't seem to be getting it. Until finally, his brow clears and a smile curls towards a smirk. “Y'askin’ me _out?”_

Beth lightly taps his shoulder in outrage, her laugh saving her nerves. “I just wanna know what _this_ is, y'know?”

A rumble vibrates in his chest as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her to his chest in a hug. “This’s whatever y'want ‘tbe.”

She squeezes her eyes closed. Is he going to make her ask or does he genuinely just want it to be her choice? Her stomach chooses that moment to rumble, flushing her cheeks and severing the moment. Daryl laughs as she sits back up. “C'mon, breakfas' an' then we'll swing by that naughty little shop an' add t' your collection.”

“Collection?” Beth murmurs in confusion until she remembers his heated words about buying more for her lingerie collection against Rick and Lori’s house. “Oh. Right. _Tha_ t collection.”

His smirk is wicked and he takes the moment to press a quick, hard kiss to her mouth. Pulling away to answer, _“that_ collection.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Successfully managed to go a week before updating! That is some crazy shit right there! My self-control is strengthening! Hope you enjoy guys!

After both of them getting dressed properly, Beth back into her jeans and heels, with a grey shirt Daryl borrows her, they set off. Walking down the street towards Jax’s apartment, Beth’s grinning from Daryl’s hand entwined with hers, and also blushing from the panties she was wearing last night being stuffed in her clutch. She sees them in there again when she retrieves Jax’s key as they arrive upon her best friends mama’s house. Turns out she didn’t need it because after she unlocks the door and leads Daryl into the kitchen, Jax is stood with wild bed hair, smeared mascara, and eating toast in a t-shirt and thong.

“Jax!” Beth cries, reaching on her tip toes to cover Daryl’s eyes with a hasty slapped palm over them.

He snorts a laugh, turning right around so he can no longer see her semi- naked best friend, which Beth finds maddeningly endearing as she drops her hand back to her side.

Stealing her attention, Jax squeaks in surprise, dropping her toast on the counter; leaving a smear of butter behind. “Shit, Beth! Y’damn near gave me a heart attack!”

Beth flares her eyes at Jax and jerks her head at Daryl. “We kinda have company. This’s gonna have to be a rule when we move into ‘gether, y’know.”

“You’re movin’ out?” Daryl asks, turning his head just enough to look at her on his right.

“Tell you later,” Beth answers, reaching her hand to turn his cheek away again. “Jax, cover up!”

“Okay, okay,” her best friend huffs, edging out of the kitchen towards her bedroom. Just before she turns the corner, she turns her head back to Beth and mouths: _Who’s the guy_?

 _Tell you later,_ Beth repeats back silently. It only strikes her in that moment that she hasn’t told Jax about Daryl at all. She slightly can’t believe she hasn’t, since he’s been on her brain so much lately. It seems inevitable that she would have mentioned him at some point. He’s all she thinks about.

Turning back to said man, she grimaces. “Sorry, I thought she would'a still been with the guy from last night.”

He shrugs his shoulders, tucking his hands into his back jean pockets. “S’fine. So, y’re movin’ out?”

She really wants to wrap her arms around him in a hug, but that seems way too clingy, so she folds them over her chest instead, tucking her clutch under her arm. “Me an’ Jax saw this place together yesterday. S’close to my new job.”

A strange smile curls over Daryl’s mouth and she’s surprised after a moment to find that it’s pride. “Was waitin’ for y’ to sober up ‘fore I congratulated y’.”

Smiling herself, she shrugs her shoulders good-naturedly. “Feels good. I start Monday. So I should really try an’ find some clothes while we’re in town,” she says the last part more to herself.

Daryl cocks his brow, reaching out to pull her into a hug, as if he read her mind. Holding her clutch in hand, she hugs him back, her chin tipped against his chest. “Y’ sayin’ you’re gonna model me summa them straight skirts?”

 _Straight skirts_? She puzzles to herself. After a moment, she proffers the correct clothing. “Y’mean ‘pencil’ skirts?”  

“Fuck ‘f I know,” he scoffs in a low grumble, raising goose bumps on her arms around his back “All I know’s they’re tight an’ your ass is gonna make me hard s’a rock.”

Flushing, Beth opens her mouth to reply but Jax’s voice enters the room shortly after the woman, interrupting whatever she was going to say in response to that. “Did y’ only have this one bag of stuff, Beth?”

Pulling away from Daryl’s warmth, she turns to her friend who enters appropriately dressed, fresh faced and proffering Beth’s overnight bag. “Yeah, jus’ the one. Thanks Jax.”

There’s a beat of silence where Jax flares her eyes at her and then Beth gasps. “Oh, right! Jax, this is my…” Beth falters, her hands indicting Daryl and quickly supplies with hot cheeks, “Daryl. This is Daryl. An’ Daryl, this is my friend, Jax.” She finishes, pointing at her friend. 

“Best friend,” Jax corrects with an eye roll as she offers her hand to Daryl.

“Nice t’ meet you,” Daryl answers politely as they shake hands.

“You too,” Jax replies pleasantly, and Beth doesn’t miss her friends flickering eye of approval as they release hands. “Beth’s told me all ‘bout you.”

Beth flares her eyes at the same time as Daryl asks, “has she now?”

With introductions done, hands shook and wanting to change the subject, Beth turns to her friend. Opening her bag, she throws her clutch inside and roots through the contents for some different shoes. “Sorry to barge in on you. Thought you’d be with Sam. I take it your brotha’s not here, walkin’ ‘round like that.”

“Was that his name?” Jax asks with a laugh as she heads back to her dropped toast. “Jimmy won’t turn up for hours yet an’ Mama’s due back ‘round twelve, so.” She shrugs, continuing to stuff her face.

Shaking her head as she retrieves her converses, Beth looks up at Daryl. “I promise she’s not a hussy.”

Daryl snorts as Jax shouts, “hey!” Through a mouthful of toast. “Pot, kettle. Y’jus’ come through my door in last night’s jeans an’ lover boy’s shirt. What happened t’yours?”

“She’s quick,” Daryl teases Beth before turning to Jax. “She puked down it. An’ me.”

“Oh, niceee,” Jax drawls, hip cocked casually against the counter. “Real classy, my girl.”

“Shut up,” Beth answers them both, her cheeks burning.

Fuck, she totally forgot she threw up everywhere. How fucking embarrassing, sweet Jesus. They begin to chatter between the three of them while Beth bends her head to change shoes and zips her bag back up. All the time avoiding who Daryl actually is, since Beth doesn’t quite know herself yet. With her car keys in hand, they say their goodbyes at Jax’s front door, Beth leaning in to kiss her friend on the cheek.

Jax takes the opportunity to whisper, “you still gotta give me the deets! Ring me later, missus.”

“I will,” Beth laughs, pulling away to meet Daryl on the sidewalk.

Jax waves them off when Beth unlocks her parent’s car and they both climb in, after Beth throws her bag in the back seat. Then  she rounds the car to climb into the driver side, and just as they’re pulling away, she has a weird thrill in her stomach seeing Daryl in the passenger seat. She’s not sure why, it’s just there.

Distracting the thought, eyes on the road, she asks, “still hungry?” Trying to mentally map the nearest café.

“Starvin’,” Daryl answers and when she spares a moment to look at him, at his burning eyes and smirking mouth, languish body in the other seat, she knows he isn’t just talking about food.

Flushing again, she turns her eyes back to the road and keeps her mind focused on driving them safely. Twenty minutes later, they park the car and make their way into town from the parking lot. As they slowly enter into the bustle of the back alleys leading into central town, Beth spies a clinic tucked into a tiny street corner.

Slowing to a halt, Daryl takes her cue and comes to a stop too, looking over at her with a raised brow. “Y’ good?”

Chewing on her lip, Beth nods, still looking at the clinics bubble shaped blue logo. “Y’think I should grab a leaflet or summat?” Not having to look at him helps her get the words out, but she’s still blushing bright red. “Y’know, ‘cause…”

“’Cause?” Daryl prompts when she falls silent.

Beth turns her head to look at him, shrugging her shoulder self-consciously. “We’re goin’ slow, right? I know this mornin’…” she flushes harder here, and then startles at Daryl’s laugh. “Wha’s so funny?”

A smirk curls on Daryl’s mouth. “You’re a hell cat in bed, but y’ blush like y’re not. S’cute.”

“Should I be offended?” She teases, forcing away her twitching smile.

Daryl reaches up to stroke her cheek as he crowds closer to her. The street is quite deserted but her heart still races being so public with him. “Y’should realise m’kinda…” he stops to stare into her eyes, licking his bottom lip in almost a nervous gesture. “Drunk ‘round you. All the time.”

She’s not quite sure what to say, so she stretches up on her tiptoes and kisses him. They kiss for a beautifully long while, her mind lost to him. His taste, his scent, his warmth, the way he makes her feel. After what feels like hours they pull away, their lips swollen and their breaths panting together between them.

“F’y wanna go inside, I’ll come wit’ y’,” he rumbles beneath his breath, tongue once more flipping out to lick his bottom lip.

Desire curls into a torturous rope of fire in her stomach every time she witnesses him do that. Ignoring the urge to fling herself at him again, she forces her eyes to wrench away from his with a quick nod.  “Let’s go in.”

Daryl nods too, and so they walk hand in hand into the clinic. Honestly, she expected him to shy away from something like this. Protecting herself from pregnancy during sex, being responsible for it. But she should have known, of course. She doesn’t know a lot about him just yet, but she certainly got the memo when it comes to the things he cares about. A shared responsibility in sex being one of them. Whether that’s communication, pregnancy prevention, STD tests, or all three. He’s made it very clear that he knows what he wants, he knows who he is, and he knows how to live his life comfortably, extending that to his sex life. She respects that about him.

She also respects that he respects her enough to lay out the law, to walk hand in hand into the clinic, browse leaflets with her. She’s even bolstered enough by his involvement to make an appointment for the coming Tuesday evening.

“Y’want me t’ come with?” He asks her quietly as they leave the clinic, still hand in hand.

A pleased feeling settles in her chest at his offer. “Would you? S’only the consultation but.” She shrugs. “Y’can.”

He rolls his chin into his shoulder. “’Course. F’y want me there.”

“I do.” Beth grins, squeezing his hand. “Come on, let’s eat so we can shop.”

Licking his lips pointedly, he squeezes her hand back. “Y’mean let’s do brunch so we can move on t’ dessert.”

Laughing, she nods with an aching grin. “Exactly.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! Here you go! 💕

_“Oh God,” Beth croons, her head falling back against the changing room mirror. “Daryl, we_ can’t _.”_

_With his hand curled around her jaw and his face buried in her throat, his mouth attacking all her sensitive skin with hot, open mouthed kisses, Daryl thoroughly ignores her. Groaning again, she grips his denim jacket in both hands, promising herself she will push him away but never actually doing so._

_“Girl,” he groans into her neck. “Y’can’t look like that an’ ‘spect me to keep my hands off y’.”_

_Despite her terror of being heard or caught in the busy mall changing room, Beth can’t help the excitement that shoots through her blood stream from his words. She grips him tighter, her chest pressing up into his, breaths harsh against his ear. His hands are all over her stomach and waist, squeezing, stroking; driving her insane._ _She’s currently dressed in a pencil skirt, stockings and lacy bra that she_ was _trying to decide if she would purchase. Until Daryl twitched the curtain to the side and pinned her with that intoxicating, piercing stare of his._

 _Then he was on her like a dog to a bone, his mouth stealing hers before he sloppily dragged it down her chin and jawline until he found her throat._ _Fuck, his mout-_

“Beth, dear?”

Blinking rapidly, Beth brings her eyes into focus. The Sunday service is over, the lull of the room eradicating her memories of her hot and heavy make out session with Daryl yesterday. God, what a day she had with that man.

Clearing her throat, she looks to her mother. “Sorry, Mama. M’jus a little tired.”

Smiling sweetly, her mother entwines their arms as they both stands from the church pews. “That’s okay, dear. I hope you had a nice time out with your friend.”

Beth's mind flicks back to yesterday.

_Goose bumps flooding down her arms, her skin a vibrating live wire of sensation. Her nails biting into denim, trying to pull Daryl closer and push him away all at once. Drowning in the way he makes her feel, washed under by his waves of desire. The things she learns about Daryl when he kisses her._

The sun breaks across her face, bringing her back to reality once more. “Yeah, I sure did.” She smiles.

They wait outside for her father because he usually likes to stay and talk to old friends. While he’s busy, she pulls her phone out and loads up her texts. Opening the one marked with Daryl’s name, Beth looks at the last text on the screen.

**D: night Greene**

**B: night Daryl x**

Smiling to herself, she hovers over the keyboard for a moment before deciding what to type.

**B: I had such a good day yesterday**

Almost instantly her phone chimes with a response.

**D: me too girl**

**D: miss the smell of u**

A stupid grin steals her face and aches her jaw.

**B: miss u too**

**B: an ur smile**

**D: i dont smile**

**B: u do for me**

**D: ur different**

The messages rapidly ping back and forth between them, winding her stomach tighter and tighter with butterflies. She’s just about to respond to his latest text when her daddy walks back towards them, indicating that he’s ready to leave. He links arms with her mama and smiles at her as they head towards the car. Beth drives, lips curling at her parent’s reflection from the backseat as they sit holding hands. As she pulls out of the church lot, she glances at her phone again, thinking about the man she’s desperate to text.

Could she have that with Daryl? That kind of love her parents have? It's early days but she truly believes she can. She’s still learning who he is, still exploring him, just as he is her, but everything she’s discovered so far she loves. Like at breakfast when they talked on their religious beliefs, on how Daryl doesn’t know what to believe, or if he believes all of it. Beth feels much the same, though it’s something she’s never expressed because she didn’t want to insult her parents.

How he grew up as the little brother, and her the little sister. Always having their siblings on their backs, always having them teasing them, sometimes really hurting them but yet, still loving their siblings anyway. She sure as shit was hurt by Maggie a few times, when Maggie had her rebellious college phase. The nasty stuff she would say about how they were only half-sisters. Her brothers teased her for many years, sometimes in the school they shared too. He grew out of it but it was still rough for Beth.

Having someone who understands the weight of being the youngest just made her feel more connected to Daryl. They constantly connected yesterday, learning about each other. Forging something more than mere lust. More than excitement to get into bed with each other. Excitement to just talk instead, to ask those deep questions, explore the hidden depths of one another. It was lovely, she had a great day with him. Losing her thoughts to Daryl once again, Beth finds herself turning onto the road up to her parent’s farm.

God, she really should have paid more attention to the road. She barely has any recollection of driving home. Sitting up straight in her seat, she fully pays attention as she drives up to the house and parks the car. The three of them clamber out shortly after, and shut their car doors one after another.

Beth turns to face her parents as they head up the porch. “Hey, guys?”

They both pause on the steps to give her their attention but it’s her daddy who speaks. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“Do y’think we could have a talk at the dinin’ room table after I wash up last night’s dishes?” She asks as she raises her hand to shade her eyes against the sun.

“Of course, sweetheart,” her mama answers. “Is everythin’ okay?”

“’Course, Mama. Jus’ wanna quick chat with you guys,” Beth answers, dropping down a step to kiss each of their cheeks. “Meet you in the dinin’ room in’a sec.”

Heading through the screen and then porch door, Beth heads straight into the kitchen to wash up. When she’s done and dried her hands, she retrieves a tray and some mugs. Then she puts the kettle on to boil and lets her eyes unfocus while staring at the wall, returning to her previous memories of yesterday. 

 _Daryl always speaks with his body, expresses his emotions with skin to skin contact. Like it’s a connection that allows his mind to bloom open for her exploration. She knows so little and yet so much about him already, it’s dizzying. Intoxication. Maddening. When his mouth slides down to the swells of her breasts, her eyes roll into her skull._ _There’s a thin scar on the inside of his bottom lip that she never noticed before, but she feels it now, dragging against her flesh and leaving goose pimples._

_Jesus, God. He just kills her._

_“Daryl, stop,” she rushes out, gently pushing his head away, her face full of fire. “We’re gonna get caught.”_

_Growling lightly, he hooks his arm around her waist and drags her up on her toes to kiss her. “You’re so fuckin’ beautiful.”_

_A smile steals across her face and the words just burst out of her. “I really like you.”_

_Replicating her smile, he blinds her with the glow in his face. “I really like y’too, Greene.”_

The kettle comes to a screaming boil, tearing Beth out of her day dreams. She pours out the tea, puts them all on the tray and heads to the dining area where her parents await her. After handing the cups out, she takes a seat opposite her parents and inhales deeply.

Finally, she just runs with it. “Mama, Daddy. Now that I have this job… I was thinkin’ s’time for me to move out.”

There’s silence for a beat and then her daddy reaches across the table to take her hand. “I think that’s a very mature decision, doodlebug. I’m very proud of you.”

Blowing out a big breath, Beth sinks into her chair a little. “Really, daddy? Mama?”

“Of course, dear,” her mother smiles. “You’re so grown up now, darlin’. We’ve had to see this with Maggie an’ Shawn. You all leave the nest some time, much as we don’t want you to.”

Unexpectedly, her eyes begin to water. “Sorry, I’m not upset,” she rushes to explain as she wipes at her eyes. “M’jus’ a little more nervous than I thought. This feels different than the other times, y’know?”

Her daddy pats her hand affectionately. “Bethy, we will always be here. Your home will always be here.”

Shooting up from her chair, she rounds the table to pull them both into a hug. “I love you guys so much.”

“An’ we love you, sweet girl.”

After they finish their tea, filled with idle chit chat, they say their good nights and Beth heads to her bedroom, glancing around at her white walls. She had planned to draw on them but it seems pointless now that she’s moving out, so she decides to keep her sketches in mind for her new apartment. Thinking of her new place and roommate, she fondly recalls her phone conversation with Jax last night.

“ _Tell. Me. Everything.”_

_Beth laughs into the phone, throwing herself back on her bed. “Remember my old crush?”_

_“Shut up!” Jax exclaims. “Shut up, shut up, shut up! That is_ not the _Daryl Dixon, Beth Greene!? I had my suspicions when y’introduced him but I didn’t wanna say anythin’ ‘case it wasn’t!”_

_Squeezing her eyes shut with a ridicously big grin, Beth does a stupid dance to herself in bed. “It is, Jax! S’him! After the Halloween party an’ I won the priz-”_

_“Wait, wait, wait,” Jax interrupts. “Halloween party?”_

_“Oh God,” Beth laughs, flipping onto her stomach and kicking her feet back and forth. “So Rick an’ Lori invited me…”_

Shaking her head to herself, Beth replies to a text from her brother Shawn, who’s currently backpacking in Australia while gathering some pyjamas out of her dresser. After they’ve exchanged their good nights, she has an unexpected phone call from her sister.

“Hey, Mags,” she greets as she strips her jeans off, her phone tucked between her shoulder and cheek.

“Hey, nest leaver.”

Beth rolls her eyes. “Damn, Mama is quick.”

“Yeah, Annette lets me know everythin’ interestin’ that goes down in that house. Lately it’s been ‘bout the chickens, so this is kinda more excitin’.”

Wincing silently, Beth hates that she still feels a flare of shame that the woman she calls mother is not the same woman Maggie calls mama. Her mama died when she was young, and then her daddy met Beth and Shawn’s mama. It’s never really been a divide between her and Maggie until her sister threw it in her face during her teens. Still, it almost makes Beth feel guilty when they edge close to the subject. After ending up on the phone for over an hour, her and her sister finally hang up. Beth places her phone on charge and then stands with it in hand, returning to her texts with Daryl.

**B: sorry bout not replying, I was at church**

**D: thought I scared u**

The reply is instant, like he’s been waiting for her to respond all day. It puts ridiculous butterflies in her stomach.

**B: never**

**D: good**

**D: u heading to bed?**

**B: yeah, just wanted to say gooonight**

**D: night girl, see u soon**

Grinning, Beth swipes off her texts, ensures her alarm is set; her phone set to loud and then turns out her beside lamp. Tucked into bed and warm, she lets her eyes flutter closed as her new necklaces settles into the hollow of her throat, and she remembers how she got it.

“ _Daryl, you really don’t have to do this,” Beth insists desperately as he steps behind her._

_“Shull’up,” he snarks lightly, throwing the chain over her head and closing the clasp behind her neck. “Y’shoulda told me was y’ birthday. Wouldn’t be late.”_

_Turning around to face him, she strokes the new chain and little charm around her neck. “I didn’t mention it on purpose. I’s jus’ tellin’ you ‘bout my nephew.”_

_“I know, y’not like that,” Daryl answers sincerely._

_Beth smiles, even as she continues to protest. “It cost so much, though.”_

_"Beth,” Daryl sighs as he cups her cheeks, regardless of the stores assistant standing behind the counter. “S’from me for y’ birthday. Lemme give t’ you.”_

_Smiling still, but now with flushed cheeks, she relents. “Okay. Thank you. I love it.”_

_Daryl stares at her with this_ look _, his hands holding her face and Beth feels butterflies explode in her stomach. “I love that y’ love it.”_

Eyes closed in the dark, Beth’s fingers trace the arrow dangling off her neck chain and let’s herself fall a little bit more in love with Daryl Dixon.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The writers block has got me good, guys. So I'm uploading in the hopes that comments and kudos will get the cogs in my brain moving again. I think it's because I'm so trapped in GoT right now, and I need to reacquaint myself with TWD & Bethyl. YouTube vids here I come!

The first week at work for Beth slips between her fingers in snapshots, days, moments, and people. When the end of the week comes around in one quick flash, she has to reflect back on her week in calendar format in order to convince herself she really experienced it.

_ Monday _

“Damn girl, you sure you don’t wanna be a singer? Jus’ sayin’, you got the whole package – education, voice; song writing talent.” Her new colleague Rosita smirks.

Rosita is one of the company’s best vocalists and she’s stunning to boot. Funny, a little bit snarky. She made Beth feel welcome from the get go, bantering and fooling about with her in the studio.

Beth laughs her off with a smile and a wave of her hand, blue fingernails streaking through the air. “Trust me, I don’t wanna be a singer. Shouldn’t make hobbies jobs. I wanna write scores some point. S’jus a steppin’ stone.”

Swatting her own hand through the air, nails a burnt orange, Rosita tosses back her head, her long, dark hair slithering down her shoulders in luxuriously silky waves. “You ain’t ever gonna wanna leave me after today, girlfriend.”

Grinning, Beth takes her new thin and sleek, company laptop in arms. Pulling the studio door open, she holds it open for Rosita as she answers her. “Not when you got that Lana Del Ray croonin’ voice, I won’t. Y’ make me wanna write so many songs. Ultimate muse.”

Rosita winks long lashes back at her, a wicked smile spreading her red, full lips and Beth’s pretty sure she’s just made a really good friend. Later that day, there was her phone conversation with Daryl.

“Hey, workin’ girl.”

“Hey,” Beth grins towards her painted toenails at the bottom of the tub, pink in contrast to her blue nails, phone held to her ear. “How’s your day, been?”

Daryl grunts softly in the background, and she can picture him rolling a shoulder. “S’alright. Nothin’ fun. Thought ‘bout you.”

“Oh, yeah?” She teases softly, drifting her wet fingers across the tiles on the wall, the air muggy and hot in the bathroom, sticking her baby hairs to her skin.

“Mmhm,” he hums, raining a shower of tingles until her whole body thrums. “What’d you do today?”

Ridiculously, as usual for her, Beth blushes. “I started a new song.” _A song that was inspired by you._

“Yeah?” He asks and her heart booms against her rib cage at the genuine interest colouring his voice. “Why don’t you go ahead an’ sing me summat?”

Sitting up in the tub, the water flowing around her thighs, Beth wraps one free arm around her knees and closes her eyes. Her stomach is a nest of butterflies but she finds she really wants to sing it for him; share a piece of her soul. What’s more intimate than the creativity that oozes into songs?

Clearing her throat softly, she sings quietly, a little halting as she hasn’t quite got a grasp on her pitch of the song yet. _“Can you drive… drive me home? It’s too late to be walkin’… all alone.”_

Her mind flashes back to when Daryl came to pick her up in the early hours, finding her sat with that little black cat on the sidewalk. “ _An’ will you stop in front… of my apart-ment_? _We can call the kiss…. An’ accident_.”

There’s a pregnant pause on the other line and Beth finds herself holding her own breath, steam and heat hostage in her lungs until Daryl croaks softly, “s’there more?”

Beth squeezes her closed lids tighter and strings together the other lyrics that have been plaguing her on her route home from work. “ _Blame it on the moon, blame it on the booze, we got opportunity, baby an’ every excuse…”_

Her eyes flutter open with the last lyric, but the bathroom around her fades into Rick an’ Lori’s back yard, how they kissed and groped each other. The things Daryl did to her against the side of their house.

“I um, think I want something else between this but the next part I have is this…” Beth takes another deep breath and continues, her eyes open to her own memories. _“To see you at this party feels like a sign from the universe…”_

His breath cuts out on the other end and she feels goose bumps flood through her right to the core of her being, when he finally manages to whisper intimately, “fuck, Beth. S’there nothin’ ‘bout you that ain’t pure? You’re so fuckin’ beautiful.”

Beth sinks down into the bubbles of her bath and lets the intoxicating madness of Daryl Dixon steal her face into a splitting grin.

_ Tuesday _

“Beth!”

Stood outside the clinic, ready for her consultation, she turns around in the pouring rain, umbrella held over her head; spying Daryl rushing over in the downpour.

“Hey! Quick, you’re soaked!”

Ducking under her umbrella, he takes the handle from her and lifts it above their heads. He’s absolutely soaked and still so gorgeous. Before they have to go inside, act proper and polite, Beth lets the excitement of seeing him again guide her into cupping his neck; stretching to the tip toes of her sodden converse for a kiss. Daryl lets the umbrella slacken, rain spraying them like sea salt when it drops to the floor, and grasps Beth’s jaw, opening her mouth beneath his questing tongue. Beth pulls herself tightly into him, pressing his soaked clothes to hers and kissing him with hot, open mouthed need.

When they pull away, rain drops in their eyelashes, Daryl’s eyes so beautifully blue, she has a mad, desperate thought.

_I think I’m fallin’ in love with you._

_ Wednesday _

“Y’okay, girl?” Daryl asks, squeezing her cold hand in reassurance.

Beth nods with a slightly pained smile, tightening her fingers around his. The aesthetic needle did pinch a little but her arm is actually going numb now, in preparation for the implant about to be inserted. “I’m okay, honestly. Just really glad to have you here.”

Daryl’s lip curls, his neck shifting against the collar of his leather jacket, throwing his scent in her face. “Promise we’ll go on a proper date ‘gain soon, maybe Friday. These clinic visits been a li'lle bit of'a let down.”

Laughing, she’s distracted as the nurse begins to insert the next needle beneath the layer of her skin. “I think our date in two weeks is gonna be pretty epic. Maybe we should wait,” she whispers under her breath.

Bright eyes sparkling as he looks down at her, Daryl squeezes her hand again, the nurse removing the needle from her skin for the last time. “I want my cake, an’ I wanna eat it, girl. We’ll have both.”

Thinking of the bare back fucking she’s going to get the minute this implant is effective makes her want to squeeze her legs tight. They could have sex with a condom for sure now that she's finished her period, but it’s like they’ve silently decided to wait until they can be completely bare together.

From the look in Daryl’s eye, he’ll be avidly counting the days down too.

_ Thursday _

Thanksgiving. Thursday 26th November. Beth has absolutely no idea where the time is going lately. Between her new job, her clinic visits, seeing Daryl, and her heading off after work today to go and sign her apartment lease with Jax, she's astounded by the amount of days that seem to be disappearing through the cracks of her life. Because her mama asks her to grab extra cranberry sauce after work, of which she had to fight someone for because it was the last one on the shelf, Beth is completely exhausted by the time she collapses into the dining room chair. The smell of turkey is filling the house, and the shrieking laughter of her nephew at that.

A part of her is loving the atmosphere, loving seeing her family, especially Shawn who came home for Thanksgiving as he does every year, but a whole other part of her just wants to curl up with Daryl. Ridiculous really. She saw him literally yesterday, not to mention the day before that, and paired with their phone calls, it’s not like they’ve been strangers this week. She just feels a little guilty because he keeps making so much effort for her, texting her, ringing her and coming to her appointments with her, but she’s been so wiped every night that she hasn’t been much of a conversationalist.

He’s so incredibly patient with her though, and it makes her crave him in a way that she’s worried is unhealthy. Vibrating in her pocket, her phone chimes a text. _Speak of the devil._ She knows it’s Daryl before she even pulls her phone out.

**D: hope you enjoy your dinner :)**

**B: you too :)**

Beth hovers over the send button and finally adds more to her initial text.

 **B: you too :)** **miss u**

Hitting send makes her stomach tighten but Daryl’s reply is swift, taking her out of her misery.

**D: miss u too**

Another message zings in straight after.

**D: an your ass**

Snorting, a smile makes her cheeks hurt as her fingers fly across her keyboard.

**B: still wanna go out tomoz?**

**D: yeah, u play pool?**

**B: you could teach me?**

**D: feel like this is an excuse to bend over for me**

A pang echoes between her legs, reminding her of their going slow promise. God, it’s killing her but she still feels like it’s the right decision. This past week has been about getting to know each other. Being there for each other. Being more than just sex. Learning he takes his coffee black, he loves zombie shows and sweet songs with guitars. He loves her singing.

**B: feel like this is an excuse to sext me**

**D: could always send you a dick pic**

**B: Daryl!!**

Even as she texts it with hot cheeks, she’s grinning.

“Oh, I know that look.”

Jumping out of her skin, she looks up at Maggie bringing in a dish of steaming hot potatoes, her green sweater the exact shade of her eyes. “Who’s the guy?”

Beth’s phone pings in her hand and she’s not sure if she’s more desperate to read it or spill all to Maggie.

Compromising, Beth smiles and jerks her head to indicate the porch. “Find me when the fireworks are goin’ off.”

Maggie smirks back, placing the dish down on the table already laden with different plates, trays and bowls overflowing with a variety of stunning foods, releasing heady and mouth-watering aromas. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

Glancing down at the notification on her phone, Beth flushes, squeezing her stocking clad thighs together, still looking at her screen as she replies to her sister, “it’s a juicy one.”

_One image attachment._

_ Friday _

“It’s Friday!” Beth shouts by way of introduction.

Daryl’s mouth kicks up, holding his front door open for her and letting the cold sweep through his door in a shrieking gale. “Someone’s glad to see the weekend.”

Beth steps inside, brushing her cold, wind chafed lips over his cheek before she pulls back. “You bet. ‘Fore that though, how was your Thanksgivin’?” She smiles.

Daryl rubs at his jaw, scratching at the thick beard growing there as he shuts the door with his other hand. “Was fine. Don’t really celebrate it with no one.”

“Oh,” she answers, the smile on her face fading a little when she enters his living room and he strides on to the open plan kitchen. “Don’t you have any family? Y’ mentioned your brother at breakfast.”

There’s a pang in her chest, imagining him all alone in his house, probably not even eating a lovely dinner the way her and her family did. She wishes she could have been here for him, or had him over but that’s veering dangerously into the meeting the parent’s category, and _that_ is hand in hand with girlfriend territory. An irrational, childish part of her just wants him to fall in love with her already. To want to be around her as much as he wants her in his bed. _Stupid_ , she thinks instantly. They've only agreed to date but the way this man makes her feel, makes her smile, makes her blush; makes her giddy, she's entirely sure she would say yes if he asked her to marry him.

“Brother gets ‘imself locked up most’ov the year, dad ain’t ‘round, an’ Ma don’t celebrate nothin’.” Daryl interrupts her thoughts, her mind lingering on the way he said _dad ain’t round_ so venomously. 

Beth looks up in surprise. “S’your mama close by?”

“Yeah,” he answers with a tilt of his head.

Sucking in a breath, she murmurs very softly, “why don’t we go see her? We could have some food, like ‘nother little Thanksgivin’.”

For a long moment, Daryl just looks at her and her stomach tightens painfully. Has she just flung herself over the edge into girlfriend territory? Is that the claim she just made?

“Okay,” he finally answers, stepping towards her. Blinking owlishly, she lets him pull her into his chest, glancing up at him to determine his seriousness. “Why not? Can still go shoot some pool later. Can go see Ma first.”

She knows she probably looks like a dick just blinking at him as if she’s thick, but she can’t seem to stop. “You ever took a girl to meet your Ma ‘fore?”

Looking at her seriously, he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her flush against him. “Nah.”

“So…? Why me?” Beth whispers softly, her eyes flicking between his eyes and lips.

Staring for a really, really long time, a feeling pulls deep in her chest. An intuition, a silent communication, a message.

All she manages to squeak out is, “ _oh.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you all know the lyrics Beth sings are Emily Kinney's 'Drunk and Lost', but just incase you don't - they didn't come out of my own head. I've never had a talent for song writing, unfortunately 🙄


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally posted on Tumblr my apologies earlier & thought I can apologise better by updating. I was gonna try and wait until I had more post upfront but whatezzz, I miss your comments 🤸🏼♀️
> 
> P.S I'm LeighJ11 on Tumblr guysss

After piling into Daryl’s truck, Beth rolls down the window on her side and lets the brisk wind lift her hair. The radio is turned on and then they’re cruising down side streets with a bruised November sky stretched out before them. So close to Christmas now, December snows, hot cocoa and fires, that Beth can taste the melted marshmallows on the tip of her tongue.

A smile lifts her lips to think that she and Jax will be in their new apartment for Christmas. They receive the keys tomorrow, Beth remembers with a flutter of her stomach. She’s been trying to pack through the week, bits and bobs here and there, made easier by the fact that she never really unpacked after coming home. 

Thank God she binned a load of crap she didn’t want when she went wild painting her childhood room white, leaving next to nothing to box away. The only pieces of furniture she owns is her bed, chest of drawers and vanity, which is the biggest things she’s got to move. The apartment comes only part furnished. 

Which is the key reason she and Jax have made plans to do some shopping when they get a free moment together. The pair of them were going to delay moving with Christmas looming so close, but they both agreed they were way too excited. Plus, they're not far from their parents, which means it won’t be too much hassle to make their way over on Christmas day. 

She's not sure on Jax's plans, but Beth certainly knows her parents will expect her to go home for Christmas, like all of them do. The Greene’s always reunite at the holidays, a tradition Beth doesn’t want to be the one to break. 

Glancing over at Daryl to break her churning thoughts, she places her hand over his and smiles when he first glances down at the movement, and then up at her face. “Y’okay?”

Beth nods, even though this simple thing feels rather bold, as if she’s broadcasting all of the emotions crowding in her chest. All her thoughts pronounced with this one movement. How she wishes she had celebrated Thanksgiving with him, how she’s nervously excited to have him taking her to his Mom’s house for dinner. 

How she wants to spend Christmas with him too, despite all of her family traditions. All of these things being something that couples do. Partners. It feels like that’s the direction they’re heading into.

Regardless of their intimate times, just the simple moments they’ve shared together have been exciting for Beth. All the things she’s learned about him.   
In the small time they’ve had since her return, she feels like she’s been walking a certain path, and on that path Daryl has been right alongside her. Not hesitating, not bracing back against her advances but welcoming them, embracing them. As if they’ve both chosen to walk this path together. 

The only problem with that is how he didn’t seem to have an answer for her when she asked what they were. She’s pretty sure he just doesn’t want to be too overbearing, that he wants her to have her own choices, her own say. Beth thinks that’s mostly who he is by nature and also derived by the fact that she’s so much younger than him. 

As if he’s worried that because he’s at an age where he’s ready to settle down and maybe start a life with someone, she might not be in that same head space too. Truthfully, she doesn’t quite know if she is or isn’t. Sure, she just turned twenty four not too long ago and perhaps that’s a little young, maybe she’s cocky enough to think she’s grown now. 

Maybe not so much intimately, though Daryl is certainly helping her grow in that department, but in her heart, and certainly in her mind, she knows who she is. She knows what she wants. She’s travelled, she’s seen beautiful things, and she’s seized life with both hands. Opportunities, moments, last minute experiences. 

Beth’s done all of that, she’s had fun, and yes she plans to do it all again someday but her intentions were always to come home and start her life first. A life where she gets a real job, a real home to stay in. Being a traveller, a woman who doesn’t stay in one place for long, while fun and adventurous, can be exhausting in the end. 

It was time for her to stop, to slow down, to be around the people she loved instead of the places. Muscle along the slow path. The early alarms, the savour cup of coffee, the hot bath on a winter night. The hustle of traffic, the sound of a cat calling at a window. All the little things in life that make the long days’ worth it, the hard work, worth it. 

So would it really be too far-fetched to think she would be ready to settle down with Daryl? Date seriously, openly? Start really opening up to each other and making something real between them, a space they can share for many years to come? She’s so lost in her thoughts, eyes crossing as she zones out, that she jerks when the engine cuts off. 

Blinking, she flushes a little when she realises she was staring at him so avidly and straightens up with a clearing of her throat. Glancing through the windshield, she realises they’ve pulled into a supermarket lot. 

“Y’alrite, girl? Y’seem outta it. Y’not nervous ‘r y’?” Daryl rumbles, reaching his hand to stroke two of his fingers down her cheek. 

Beth smiles, turning her head to kiss his palm. “I mean, I wish I’d changed outta my work clothes ‘fore comin’ over.” She teases, brushing off her worries as she indicates her simple black dress with a sophisticated square cut, stockings, heels and long, black winter coat. 

The look on Daryl’s face says he’s very glad she didn’t and his eager hand stroking her thigh confirms it. “You look real damn good.” He lifts her hand and brushes his lips over her knuckles, before levelling her with a serious gaze. “Girl, y’okay?”

“Fine,” Beth answers with her most reassuring tone.  "Jus’ thinkin’. Too much probably,” she laughs, reaching to unclip her seatbelt. 

As she cranks her door open, Daryl reaches across the cab and touches on her arm to slow her down. "Y’know y’can tell me anythin’, right?”

 _Can I? ‘Cause I think that’s all I want. To be able to tell you everythin I’m feelin’, everythin’ that's stranglin’ me._

“Yeah,” she finally whispers, squeezing his hand on her forearm. “Don’t worry. Le’s go get some food.” Beth smiles.

Daryl nods and they both exit the truck, slamming doors behind them before meeting up at the sliding doors of the supermarket. Daryl grabs a cart and pushes it half-heartedly with one hand, his eyes scanning shelves the minute they enter the store. Considering it’s just after six in the evening, there’s a steady pace of people entering and exiting. 

Browsing isles together, Daryl pushes the cart with one hand and uses his other to paw through the shelves. It’s not like they have much turkey left with it being the day after Thanksgiving, but they manage to dig up a chicken, and the last bag of potatoes on sale. They don’t talk wandering around the store, but it’s a comfortable silence. 

Beth revels in it, looking out at the darkening sky and wrapping her arm around Daryl’s pushing the cart. He looks down at her with a twitch of a smile on his lips before he pecks the top of her head, beard scuffing her forehead. A giggle seeps out of her, and she feels so warm inside, a steady burn through her stomach and chest. 

It oozes into her bloodstream, sluggishly filling each of her lips until she’s near walking on air, or in a bubble, maybe. A bubble that pops rather abruptly when her eyes fall upon her own sister in the frozen aisle, Glenn at her side and baby Hershel in the little cart seat. Oh, sweet Jesus, she was not ready to do this yet.

Yesterday, during the fireworks as promised, she spilled all to her big sister, not having seen enough of Jax lately to fill her best friend in. Beth was bursting to tell someone that she had actively gone on birth control, something she had neither the time nor need for when she was travelling. 

Sure, there were some boys and men littered through her years, but a condom was always good enough. Choosing a more permanent way was almost hand in hand with having a lot of sex. Which, giving her shyness and her inner desires, has been driving Beth slowly crazy with daydreams. She already knows Daryl is a feral kind of guy, especially in bed and she was dying to tell somebody about that. 

Maggie and Beth have always had a good sister bond, bar their few years of struggle. It was her sister in fact that she called when she lost her virginity. Regardless of her fawning over Daryl in private, Beth knows Maggie well enough to know that this is going to be hell. Problem is, she doesn’t want Daryl to think she’s ashamed of him by leaving. 

Sighing in defeat, Beth decides to get it over with and calls, “Maggie!” 

Daryl pauses choosing a frozen bag of veg to glance to his side at her with a drawn brow, and then follows her line of sight to where her sister has lifted her brunette head. “Sister, Maggie?” He mutters under his breath. 

Subtly nudging her hip with his, she mutter backs, “be nice.”

“M’always nice,” he throws back as he chucks the veg in the cart, and Beth has to spare a moment to throw him an incredulous glance. “Most’ov the time,” he corrects. 

Scoffing, Beth turns her head back to where Maggie and Glenn approach with Beth’s nephew. “Bethy! What you doin’ here? Ain’t there a closer store by the farm?”

“Me an’ Daryl are headin’ to his Mama’s house. We’re gettin’ dinner,” Beth supplies as she leans in to kiss Glenn’s cheek and then hug her sister. 

“Hey, man,” Glenn greets Daryl, offering his hand under the hawk green eyes of his wife. 

“Hey, china, m’Daryl,” he introduces, seizing Glenn’s hand and shaking it. 

Beth groans internally, pinching Daryl’s inner arm as Maggie lifts her brow. Glenn laughs, shaking Daryl’s hand hard and playful. “Korea, actually. Glenn.” 

Ducking his chin, Daryl’s arm pulls away from Glenn and pointedly wraps it around Beth’s waist, his eyes cutting to her older sister. “Maggie, s’nice to meet you.”

Maggie keeps her hand on the cart, the other pushing baby Hershel’s leg down as he kicks it wildly. “You too. Beth’s told me all ‘bout you.” 

“Maggie,” Beth cuts in quickly. “We should be headin’ off. Gotta cook an’ all.” 

“Hold on now, Bethy, I’m meetin’ your guy for the first time. Gimme a minute.” Her sister dismisses her, stepping closer to Daryl.

Glenn shares her pained glance but then rolls a shoulder as he concedes to let Maggie do what Maggie does. Groaning until her breath, Beth listens to Maggie interrogate Daryl for a hot minute, asking about where he grew up, where he went to school.

When she finally rolls around to asking, “so, what’re you’re intentions with my baby sister?” Beth has to step in.

“Okay, enough, you’ve scarred him for life.” 

Maggie’s mouth pops open indignantly until Daryl bends down to cluck her nephews chin. “Hey little fella, you good?” A smile steals across Beth’s face, impressed by Daryl’s bold move. 

Her nephew laughs, swiping a hand over his face and head; musing his dark mop of hair. “Hungwy!”  
Laughing under his breath, Daryl grumbles, “me too, little buddy. Hey, you wanna get summat yummy to eat together sometime?” 

Hershel nods enthusiastically and even Maggie laughs when he offers Daryl his fist and they partake in a clumsy first bump. Standing back to his full height, Daryl muses Hershel’s hair and looks back at Maggie. “He’s a real sweet kid.”

“Thanks,” Maggie answers, clearly softened by her son’s approval, her wedding band glinting as her fingers strokes Hershel’s fat cheek. 

“We really gotta go…” Beth presses as they lapse into silence. 

Nodding, Maggie reaching out to hug Beth once more, and then she’s passed to Glenn. The men share another handshake but Maggie surprises them all by hugging Daryl as heartedly as she hugged Beth. “Hope I see you ‘gain soon.” 

“Me too,” Daryl answers Maggie, but he turns his head and smiles at Beth. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love in the form of comments, bookmarks and kudos, it really helps. I'm now writing again and that's all down to you guys. Keep it coming!

“Oh God, we’re doin’ this,” Beth mutters as the doorbell rings into the belly of the house.

“Don’t change the subject,” Daryl snarks, juggling paper bags full of groceries, that he presciently won’t let Beth carry. “She was lappin’ it up.”

“Yeah, yeah, you got my sister wrapped ‘round your finger, but _hello?_ I’m ‘bout to meet your mama!” Beth hisses through a plastered smile as footsteps sound through the house.

“Chill out, she’s gonna love y’.” Daryl answers smoothly, nudging her arm with his.

Beth’s mouth pops open to respond but then the front door unlocks and swings open in the same second, revealing Daryl’s mother. She’s a few inches taller than Beth, a little wider in the middle with blonde hair going grey, Daryl’s eyes and a tight mouth heavy with lines. Beth’s smile widens tighter, her stomach squirming as she sweats.

“Hey, Ma,” Daryl greets, ducking in to kiss his mama’s cheek. Standing back, he switches the groceries into one elbow and wraps his arm around Beth’s shoulder. “This is Beth Greene. Beth, this is my Ma, Ava.”

“You Annette’s lil’ girl?” Daryl’s Ma –Ava- rasps before she clears her throat and heads into the house.

Beth throws her eyes at Daryl but he doesn’t seem bothered and heads inside, asking “you eat yet?” At the same time Beth answers Ava, “yeah. That’s Mama.”

“Went school with her in my day. Couple year’s younger, course bu’ she knew my Nicki. Daryl’s aunt,” Ava answers, walking straight for the kitchen at the bottom of the hall, taking the paper bags from Daryl despite his attempts at protest.

“Really?” Beth answers with genuine intrigue. “Are you the Ava that got caught smokin’ round back with her?”

“That’s me,” Ava cackles and the soft smile on her face transforms it into something truly beautiful.

“I would have never guessed! Small world.” Beth laughs, edging away from Daryl’s side with confidence, aware of his keen eyes on her.

“Small town,” Ava remarks and Beth grins at the thought of Rick’s favourite saying.

“She said that was Ava Faris, was that your maiden name?” Beth inquiries as they step into the small kitchen.

Ava’s smile slips as she fills the kettle with water, her posture a little straighter as she puts it to boil. “Yeah, ‘fore I married my boy’s pop.”

Beth’s stomach shrinks a little, tasting the tension in the air and knowing she caused it. Glancing at Daryl, he throws her a half smile of reassurance that makes her feel better, backed with his hand stroking her shoulder.

“Ma, you ain’t answered me ‘bout eatin’.” Daryl starts the conversation back up, watching Ava set out three mugs even though she hasn’t asked anyone if they want a drink.

“I can eat,” Ava supplies before turning her head to face Beth and simply asking, “sugar?”

“One, please,” Beth smiles, trying to seem non-threatening.

Daryl and his ma chat while Ava makes the drinks, Daryl laying out the stuff they brought from the store. Beth interjects herself where she’s brave enough but otherwise she lingers to the side and chews her lower lip.

“So,” Ava begins when the drinks are done and on the tray. “Son, tell me y’ain’t dragged this poor young girl down to cook f’ me.”

Daryl rolls his eyes and Beth laughs nervously. “We wanted to cook for you, Mrs- er, Ava,” she changes quickly, sure Mrs Dixon wouldn’t go down well. “’Cause Daryl said ya’ll didn’t celebrate thanks givin’ t’gether.”

Pursing her lips, Ava nods as she pushes mugs before Beth and Daryl. “Y’let Daryl cook for you yet, Beth?”

Flushing, Beth notices the subtle prod into the nature of hers and Daryl’s relationship. She’s also happy to not correct the assumption. “Not yet, m’sure I’ll get him to feed me some time though, right?” She teases with a flicker of her eyes to Daryl.

He flicks his eyebrow back at her with a small smirk. “Mhmm.”

“Well, honey, prepare for the food poisonin’, ‘cause that boy can’t cook for shit.” Ava ruthlessly pops out, sipping her coffee.

“Ma,” Daryl groans, red splotches appearing in his cheekbones endearingly.

“What?” Ava replies with a smooth, innocent expression and a gesture of her coffee. “I’m just preparin’ her!”

Giggling, Beth feels the tension unwind from her gut and doesn’t feel as self-conscious within her own movements or words. From that point, there’s a new found ease between the three of them, one Beth didn’t anticipate having, but certainly enjoys. Despite both her and Daryl’s insistence, Ava cooks alongside them.

All the while, she gently pushes questions into the conversation, spanning over how the two of them met and why Daryl hasn’t brought Beth around sooner. Despite the way they edge off most of them, and reply haltingly, especially to the how long they’ve been an item question, Ava is relentless, right until they’re sitting down at the table.

“This is so good,” Beth praises to dodge Ava’s recent enquiry.

“Even Daryl’s part of the meal,” Ava teases back, grinning at her son.

Scoffing into his food, Daryl lifts his head and grins at Beth sat next to him, stealing her breath away. When Beth glances to his mama, Ava has a small smirk curling her lips that makes Beth’s cheeks flame a thousand degrees. They lull into comfortable silence, interrupted only by the sounds of them steadily eating away at their plates of food.

Ava is the first to start up a new conversation. “So, honey, what are your plans?”

Chewing the food in her mouth, Beth picks up her glass and washes it down with water. “Plans?” She repeats in puzzlement, placing her glass back down on the coaster.

“Ma,” Daryl mutters after swallowing his own mouthful.

Ava smiles, indicating with her fork to wave Daryl off. “Your career goals, your plans in life, darlin’.”

Suddenly feeling as if she’s under interrogation, a fresh sweat lashes across Beth’s forehead. She really wants Daryl’s mama to like her, and she certainly wants to impress her so she launches into full promotion mode.

Laying her cutlery down for the moment, she clasps her hands together to keep them from shaking. “Well, I just finished my degree, an’ I spent some time travellin’ ‘round, seein' what the world has to offer.” Beth smiles.

“Really?” Ava asks keenly, pausing in her own eating. “M'always tellin’ Daryl to go travel! He’s not gettin' any younger.”

Beside her, Daryl shifts in his seat and Beth graces her ankle against his in a gesture she hopes is comforting. “Maybe we can go together sometime,” she proposes softly, glancing over to his face, which breaks into a small smile.

“I'm sure that would be lovely,” Ava answers, cutting into the meat on her plate. “But you’re home, I see. Still livin' with your folks?”

Picking her knife and fork back up, Beth shakes her head, happy to have another thing she can impress with, and boast about. “I’m actually movin’ into my apartment tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Daryl repeats in surprise, interrupting his mama. “You never said, girl.”

Beth’s mouth opens, but its Ava that jumps in. “Leave the girl alone, Daryl, she musta been busy packin’, plannin'... workin’ too, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, it’s been crazy,” Beth accepts the lifeline thrown to her. “Sorry, it just slipped my mind,” she finishes, hoping it won't turn into their first argument.

“Jus' wanna help,” Daryl shrugs, looking flustered, glancing back to his plate. “Could get me an’ Rick helpin' with your stuff."

“Well, Jax's mama was gonna get her friend to help but if you really don’t mind...” Beth trails off, taking the moment to eat another mouthful.

Daryl turns his head into his shoulder, glancing back up at her after spearing more chicken onto his fork. “Y’know I don’t mind.”

They both stare at each other for a moment, pausing their eating, the warm feeling in Beth’s chest that she’s been experiencing more, and more around this wonderful man growing. “That'd be great. Thanks, Daryl.” She finally says as Ava subtly clears her throat, reminding them of her presence.

_I think I’m fallin' in love with you._

Cheeks hot, Beth turns back to her food with a stupid grin on her face she can’t hide, not from Daryl, not from herself and certainly not from his mama, who smiles warmly back. When dinner’s done, desserts declined and the dishes washed at Beth’s insistence, declining all help, Daryl makes their excuses to leave, grabbing both his and Beth’s coats.

Pausing in the hall to shrug her coat back on, Beth catches sight of a framed photograph sitting on the sideboard. It’s of two young boys in a field, the sun is bright and the grins on their faces is abundant happiness. There’s an energy to it, a nostalgic feeling even though it isn’t her own memory.

It’s the feeling of childhood ignorance and joy, a story of brothers without a doubt. Reaching out to touch the glass, Beth traces the dark haired boys face. She could recognise that face anywhere, in youth and age. Daryl’s body presses to her side, the conversation he was having with his mama fading quiet.

Ava comes up on Beth’s other side and smiles warmly at the photo. “My boys. They’re grinnin’ like loons, but two second ‘fore that they were beatin’ each other up. Merle kept gettin’ Daryl in a head lock.” She shakes her head fondly but there’s a weary quality to her smile now. “Raisin’ those two…” she begins, only to never finish.

Instead, she turns to face Beth, cutting off her view of the photograph and apparently, the conversation. “Promise you’ll come ‘round soon, sweetheart.” Ava insists as she takes Beth in her arms, Daryl opening the front door in preparation for their exit.

Beth grins at Daryl over Ava’s shoulder, reciprocating the warm hug. “Promise, I will. I’ll tell mama y’said hi too!”

They share a smile and then Ava hugs Daryl goodbye, and Beth pretends she doesn’t hear the other woman muttering, “Don’t let that one go, Daryl.”

As well as Daryl’s whispered, “I ain’t plannin’ to.”

Ava waves at them the whole way down the path, and Beth feels much lighter walking away from the house than she did walking up to it, near floating on air from the figurative stamp of approval she’s received.

“So that was your brother, Merle? Where’s he at?” She pipes in, curiosity burning despite her trying to bite her tongue.

Daryl rolls his shoulder in a casual shrug but there’s a tightness to his eyes. “Merle does what Merle does. F’we see ‘im, we see ‘im. We don’t, we don’t.”

Beth frowns softly. She tries to imagine that kind of relationship with her siblings, in contrast to that photograph that talked of brotherly bonds. It’s a foreign concept to her, but Daryl has the same knack as his mama for dropping subjects.

“Ready t’go t' that bar?” He punctures the silence after they’re settled in to the truck and pulled away from Ava’s house.

Taking the red light they come upon in the next moment as her opportunity, Beth reaches over and takes a hold of his neck, kissing him deeply but softly; pouring all of her feelings into it. The curiosity he fills her with, the wonder. The hopes to stay around him long enough to unlock all his secrets. The steady flow of love filling up in her stomach.

“Alrite, then,” he mumbles breathlessly, and the grin on his face as the light turns green is enough to make Beth dizzy.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is in sight guys, eight more chapters to go 🦋

The bar Daryl takes her to is unlike any that Beth has ever visited before.

A little run down, with a grizzly pink neon sign out front and bikers hanging around the lot. Inside is a little nicer, even with the deafening music. Probably the biggest downside that Beth can find is the tight pack of bodies, pressing against her and swallowing her into clammy heat.

Sweat breaks out on the back of her neck within the first two minutes, and the uncomfortable slick of her tights soon follows. Even still, it doesn’t wipe the smile from her face.

Daryl takes her damp hand and tugs her along to the pool table near the back, where it’s a lot less crowded and cooler. She’s thankful to herself for leaving her coat back in his truck, so she has one less layer to worry about.

The door is propped open back here and cigarette smoke lingers after it comes in on the breezy air, clouding everything around her.

“Know how t'shoot?” Daryl asks over the music as he picks up a pool cue and passes it over to her.

“Not a clue,” Beth chirps back as she accepts the cue, in a ridiculously good mood due to his presence.

“Good job y'got me then, huh?” He smirks, picking up his own cue and then not so subtly stepping into her space, which hitches her breath.

In her work heels, Beth only has to stretch a small bit to hover her lips close to his, disbelieving her own daring. “Y'a very handy guy t'have around.”

“Mhmmm,” Daryl rumbles, his breath blowing over her lips and setting them to a low tingle. “How’s that then?”

Before she can decide it, her tongue flicks out to lick her bottom lip. “Y'flirtin' w'me, Mr Dixon?”

“Y'want me to flirt with y', Greene,” he doesn’t miss a beat, his hand reaching to cup her hip and pull her tight against him.

Her whole body flushes hot like she’s slid into a warm bath, goosebumps following close behind. “I...” Beth falters, heart jack hammering before she turns back to face the pool table with a coy smile. “I want you t' teach me how'ta play.”

Focusing on gathering the balls together, the only part of the game she does know how to do, she swallows dryly when Daryl comes up behind her, watching over her shoulder as Beth sets up. 

It reminds her of how he crowded behind her back in Rick and Lori's kitchen on Halloween, asking if she was getting some. Beth told him it was none of his business, and then asked him to dance.

She smiles to herself as she removes the guard. She didn't have a clue how to flirt with him then, how to take him on. The best she could do was be herself and that's worked out pretty well for her so far.

He took her home and fucked her stupid on his kitchen counter that night, after all. Taking her cue from him, she gets glassy eyed remembering his lips on her neck, his big hand holding her thigh up as he fucked into her cunt. His mouth on her clit, the way she clung to his neck as they panted into each others mouths.

“Beth?”

“Mm?” She breaks out of her daze with a start, their naked flesh still painted on the back of her eyelids as she glances back at him with a questioning gaze.

“M'gonna let y'break, so have at it,” he whispers into her ear, the only sound she can focus on despite the roaring music and millions of conversations all around her.

Positioning her arms, she clears her throat and tries to bring some sense back to herself. Starting with her angle, Beth bends slightly and feels her ass connect with the front of Daryl’s jeans.

He hisses in a breath, and a rapid, sharp thrill shoots straight between her legs. Playing innocent, she shoots, but with a deliberate jerk of her hips against his growing hardness.

Over the course of the game, with him guiding her around the table, Beth takes every opportunity she can. In her boldest moves yet, she repeatedly rubs against him, brushes him, touches him in some way or another and flirts like a brazen hussy.

It’s dizzyingly freeing to act this way, to finally give in to the desires she feels, to the young girl caged in her chest begging to be let loose. No alcohol to fall back on, no excuses, just her and him, being together.

Finally, they reach the last stage of the game. All balls are pocketed, and there’s only the black one left for the win. Daryl lines up to shoot and Beth stands alongside him, watching avidly, flicking between the decision to distract him or play a fair game.

For a moment she falls into the fair game category, then she realises she’s been playing dirty the whole time anyway, so she may as well keep treading that path.

With Daryl bent over the table, his jeans tight against his ass, Beth’s lip curls as she lets her hand slide into his back pocket and squeeze. He jerks, missing the shot and stuffing the win.

Before Beth can even finish laughing, he turns on his heel, her hand yanking from his pocket as he seizes her jaw. The kiss they share drowns her, and she’s stolen away from the bar, from her own body.

All she knows is Daryl’s lips on hers, his arms around her waist, his tongue sliding along her own and the hot skin of his neck under her fingers. When they pull away, she’s dizzy with arousal, the pulse between her thighs sending shockwaves throughout her body.

Daryl’s eyes are blazing blue fires, his fringe doing nothing to deter the intensity of which he looks at her. To think that someone who looks like him can feel the way he so visibly feels for her, blows Beth’s mind.

“Ready t’get outta here?” He rumbles over the music.

She nods eagerly, letting him take her hand as they make their way through the tight crowd and out onto the sidewalk outside the bar, where the night is chillingly, beautifully cold against Beth’s skin.

Daryl removes his hand from hers to dig in his back pocket, fishing out his cigarettes and standing to light one as she grabs some much needed air. A smile is still staining her face and she can’t find it in her to wipe it off.

The way he makes her feel is intoxicating, dizzying and simply being with him makes her so happy she feels she could scream with the ecstasy of it. It’s terrifying and exciting all at once, a feeling she wants to grab with both hands and one she’s also scared of losing.

Daryl turns to her with a grin, cigarette between his teeth and car keys in hand. “My place?”

She nods, taking his free hand as they source the truck from where they left it. While he unlocks the door, she quickly hugs him from behind and stretches to kiss him just behind his ear.

Even as cigarette smoke curls into her face and up her nostrils, the scent of him is still prevalent. The outdoors, the woods, the comfort of a cabin. It never gets old for her.

“Y’wanna stay there all night?” He teases, his hand reaching behind himself to squeeze her.

Beth sighs softly and kisses him again. “I wanna stay wherever you are,” she whispers in all honestly.

“Me too, girl,” he whispers back, turning to swallow her in his arms. “Me too.”

* * *

"Drink?” Daryl throws over his shoulder as his keys clang onto the side where he threw them.

Nodding her head as she finally takes off her work heels with a groan, she replies, “somethin’ soft, like coke or lemonade or sumthin’, please.”

“Y’sure?” He turns to look at her as she straightens up from removing her shoes.

Nodding, Beth reaches under her work dress for the edge of her tights and rolls them down her legs. When she glances up, she smiles shyly. “Yeah, thanks.”

With her coat and bag hung up, she pads into the kitchen on bare feet and proffers her tights. “Can I wash these? Gotta feelin’ I’m gonna be headin’ home in the same stuff tomorrow.”

A teasing grin settles on Daryl’s face as he reappears from the fridge with their drinks. “Machine’s there, have at it.”

Throwing her own teasing grin back at him, she bends over and opens the machine door, throwing her sweaty tights in there. Just as she’s about to close the door, Daryl pipes up, “suppose y’gotta wash everythin’ you got on, huh?”

A squirming starts in her stomach and she stands to her full height, turning to face him. “Sounds like y’tryin’ to get me naked, Dixon.”

Biting his lip, he steps closer to her, “ain’t no tryin’ ‘bout it. We both know you wanted t’jump me from the minute y’saw me.”

Blushing, Beth shrugs casually, trying really, really hard to push past her initial shyness. “If I’m gettin’ naked, you are too. Sure y’re clothes need washin’, right?”

Cringing internally, she immediately berates herself, sure she could have come up with absolutely anything else to say. Still, Daryl keeps the game going, not letting her stumble deter him as he starts unbuttoning his t-shirt, revealing his chest bit by glorious bit.

Licking her lips, Beth tugs on the zip lining the side of her dress. Daryl’s eyes track the large slices of her skin newly on show, the lace of her bra as she slips one arm out.

By the time the dress has pooled to her feet, leaving her in her underwear, he’s got his shirt balled in his hand. Her chest is heaving a little, from looking at him, to stripping, the excitement and she’s subtly trembling.

It seemed like they were going to wait until her contraceptive was in effect but one more go with a condom certainly won’t kill her. She wanted to go slow but God, she’s only human and she’s more than proved her point.

They get on like a house on fire, they can hang out without fucking but most of all; they have amazing chemistry. Chemistry that is burning her insides up with squirming excitement as Daryl bends to chuck his t-shirt into the open door of the machine.

Beth is just reaching behind her back for her bra when Daryl’s own broad back catches her eye. She goes stock still in surprise, her hands frozen as her eyes slide over the thick, knotted scars decorating his back.

“Daryl,” she squeaks out and almost shamed by the way the smile falls off his face when he turns his head to look at her. “W-what happened?”

It shocks her that she feels like she’s on the verge of tears, her throat a tight ball at the undeniably violence etched into his skin. For a brief moment she wonders why he hid them from her, but then she realises he never has.

He bathed with her, got naked in front of her and slept topless in the same bed. Coincidentally she's just never seen them. She can't fathom how but she sees them now, and the dark, pinched look on Daryl’s face tells her he thought she had seen them already too.

A painful bout of silence stretches between them, his eyes boring into hers. Beth swallows down the lump in her throat, trying to prove she’s mature enough to deal with this.

Sighing, Daryl rubs his eyes, breaking their intense staring. “F’we’re gonna do this, gonna need a much stronger drink.”

Smiling weakly, Beth wraps her arms tight around her mostly naked body. “An’ some clothes.”

Reaching back to the machine, he pulls out the shirt he just had on and tentively wraps it around her shoulders. Her eyes water for a reason she can’t name, other than she feels like he’s silently telling her he’s not mad at her for her childish reaction.

This is solidified by his lips pressing to her forehead and all she can think in the moment, is that she doesn’t deserve this beautiful, beautiful man.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. Next chapter was my absolute favourite to write! Also a big thank you to Courtney for letting me bounce ideas with her and generate a whole new fic coming soon 😎


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genuinely LOVED writing this one! My muse is slowly returning to me and I must say, I owe it all to comic sans! I saw on Tumblr that if you write with comic sans as your font it can help with writers block. It honestly does!

By the sounds of it, no one has ever deserved this beautiful man.

“My childhood was shitty. Went through some stuff.”

Beth nods, sure she looks like a wide eyed fool listening to Daryl talk about poverty, homelessness and shitty fathers that terrorise their families.

Her hand has been covering her mouth since he talked about the first time his daddy took the belt to his flesh. Eyes full of tears unshed and God, she wishes she was stronger for him but listening to his horrors is painful.

All she wants to do is love him, protect him. Instead, he's got his hand stretched comforting her, laying it softly upon her knee.

“You’ve gotta be who you are. Not who you were. Gotta be true to you.” Beth whispers. “An' God, Daryl, you're amazin'. I promise you’re amazin'.”

A wary smile sticks to his face and he glances at the floor, as if to hide it. “What makes you think that, Greene?”

She blinks slowly, at a loss and by the sudden tight set of his jaw she’s certain he only wants a specific answer. “You’re good to me. You don’t push, you’re not overbearin'... you’re good.”

An’ we'll be good, a lyric floats over her thoughts, too wispy for her too grasp and her mind too distracted by Daryl.

“M' good jus' ‘cause I’m decent t'you?” He scoffs. “You been ‘round some assholes in y'time then.”

Shrugging, she doesn’t answer. Everyone’s been around assholes, but Daryl is not one of them. He’s in pain right now and lashing out, sure but she still wants to be as grown for him as he is for her.

She still wants him to see her as a woman, not this little twenty something who he fucks and hangs out with when he feels like it. She wants him to want her, unequivocally. All of her.

“Daryl. I care about you.” She says it bluntly, so it sinks in like a bullet. “Because you’re amazin’.”

“Amazin',” he repeats it like a dirty word before pausing to swallow some whisky out of the glass in his other hand. He nails her with his gaze. “Was I amazin’ when I beat up drunks inna bar wit’ Merle? S’I so amazin’ when I took girls high off their asses t’my bed?” He growls.

Reaching for her glass on the table, she picks up her own whisky and take a large swallow, wrinkling her nose at the burn. This feels like a space where he wants to talk, not be answered so she sips her whisky and waits.

He stares at her, at the glass touching her bottom lip, at the swallow in her throat. Beth shudders with the heat that sluggishly crawls through her veins. Even now, he makes her stomach flip.

His lips peel apart and when he looks like he’s going to talk, he raises his glass for more whisky.

On the next swallow, he continues, “I didn’t always use t’be so conscious on consent an’ shit. I was jus' a dickhead guy, tryin t'prove sumthin'. ‘Til...” He sighs deeply, covering his face with his hand and rubbing his temples. “’Til Cassie Sanders.” He scoffs and swings his whisky violently, pressing it to his mouth and gulping it down. “Never forget her name.”

Beth swallows, placing her glass back on the table, knowing this isn’t heading down a path of light. Her suspicions are confirmed as he goes on, “’ccused me of rapin' ‘er. Bitta moonshine f' me, sniff for ‘er.” He shrugs. “Could see the disgust on her face in the mornin'. Made my stomach flip, y'know. Bad feelin'. Pa give me summat more than scars, give me the Dixon name. Easy to pin rape on a Dixon.”

All she can think to do is keep quiet and listen, reaching for his free hand with hers to squeeze when he keeps talking. “Didn’t get t' cops but,” he shrugs again before taking another hearty swig of beer. “Didn’t have t'. Got shit still, al'time. When Pa was gone, Ma settled, me an’ Merle shot off. Pissed ‘bout, did dumb shit, wasted our life.”

His face is so frighteningly sad, it clenches her heart in her chest. “Hey, y'got y'mama, y' got me.”

Under his lashes, his eyes burn her alive. “Y're makin' me fall hard, Greene. Y'really fuckin’ makin' me fall.”

Beth swallows and squeezes his hand, a weary smile on her face. “Me too, Daryl an’ I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

Daryl groans, pushing up from the sofa he’s sat on to hover over her, his mouth taking hers in a desperate kiss. Beth moans softly, accepting his tongue and curling into the heat of his hands on her waist where her shirt has parted.

His whole body surrenders to her and she spreads her knees to accommodate him, hooking them onto his hips. Lips detaching from hers, they fall to her throat, working big, hot kisses down her collar bones and chest.

Beth’s eyelashes flicker, thighs trembling as she runs her hands through his hair. She thinks she’s mumbling his name but she can’t be sure, attention so avid on what his mouth alone does to her body.

It doesn’t take him long to reach the cups of her bra, his fingers sliding into the front to pull it down. Her small breast is exposed in the next second, her nipple standing proud and his mouth seizes it in a hot, wet kiss.

Groaning under her breath, she flexes her hips as wetness pools into her underwear. For a mere moment she manages to open her eyes long enough to glance down at him on his knees, dark head at her nipple and hands stroking her thighs.

It’s over in an instance, darkness overtaking her as her eyelids close. Daryl moans around her nipple, swiping his lower lip across her chest to her other, neglected one. It almost hurts, the hot zing of fire down her stomach as it explodes in her clit.

Daryl’s hand skates up her thigh and catches in the side of her panties. Almost without care, he tugs them down so one side of her pussy is exposed. Beth’s fingernails ride down his scalp and across his shoulders to tear into his flesh.

Where his mouth was sliding down her quivering stomach, he growls and forces the fabric of her panties down on the other side too. Beth whimpers like a dog in heat, her whole body shaking in anticipation.

They haven’t got a condom and her contraceptive isn’t in effect yet, but not even hell freezing over could make her want to stop to sort it out. Daryl rears back up her body, sucking on her earlobe as his hands grab her inner thighs to spread them.

Beth groans again, eyes opening, sweat slicking her hair to her body as Daryl raises to one knee and props the other on the edge of the sofa. With her panties loose, he lets her left thigh go to hold up on its own, and reaches to grip her panties in his fist.

Watching with fascination, she sees him push the front of his jeans down, boxers too until the head of his cock is in her line of sight. Her mouth floods with wetness when the rest of him follows, hard and thick.

“Look at me,” he growls under his breath. Beth glances up under her lashes, her face hot and her cunt dripping. “Don’t look away.”

Her mouth pops open to say something, though she’s not sure what because in the next breath, he’s notching into her dripping opening. Words seize to exist and sentences are a foreign concept.

She can only pant and quiver as he pushes into her tight cunt, one torturous inch at a time. Not once does she look away from his eyes, even though it makes her stomach squirm. Something about it’s so hot and intimate.

Looking at him and knowing what he’s doing to her with his cock. Knowing how close their bodies are at this moment, knowing he has the power to make her come undone.

Beth doesn’t look away from him even when he’s settled inside her, nor when he pulls out in his first experimental thrust and then drives deep into her, their hips meeting.

The air catches in her throat and the temptation to look down drives her insane. Even still, she can’t look away from him. The fabric of her panties cut deep red lines in her thighs; Daryl’s hand gripping them into a tight fist as he fucks her faster and harder, forcing bursts of breath from her parted lips.

In this moment, it’s just Beth and Daryl. Screwing deep and hard, arms tight around each other, sharing air and refusing to break eye contact. The heat of his body is as distracting as his cock plunging deep into her pulsating pussy, cunt walls rippling with desire.

Wetness growing between them, sweat and juices. The sound of their bare skin on the sofa, their damp skin meeting, their panting breaths and low moans. She doesn’t look away the entire time and when she finally does, it’s because the orgasm stealing her consciousness is too big to fight.

* * *

 "Jesus, look at the time.” Beth groans, catching sight of the clock on the living room wall.

“Thought you were stayin’?” Daryl asks, a tightness gathering in his shoulders.

“I am, I meant I need to get t' sleep.” She soothes him, her hand sliding down his bicep in a soft caress.

Beneath her, he unwinds into the sofa and sighs in a sound that’s almost relief. “Still want me an’ Rick t’help y’out tomorrow?”

“Sure, d'you ask him?” Beth asks, drawing her finger in a circle on his chest.

“Hold on,” he grunts, reaching for his jeans on the floor where they ended up after they both stripped naked post fuck. Fumbling in the pocket, he takes out his phone.

“S'kinda late, Daryl. Ain’t Rick gonna be sleepin’?” She murmurs, sitting up to look at him in the low lamp light.

“Probably.” He shoots her a naughty grin as he raises his phone to his ear.

A smile plays at her lips as she half listens to the dial tone ringing through the speaker. The line connects and she continues to barely attention to the boys conversation as she maps Daryl’s chest with her fingertips.

_Do you know what fuckin' time it is, you shit?_

_Y'wanna earn your medals helpin' out two young ladies tomorra, Grimes?_

_Yeah, I’m already tryin' to help out_ my _lady, Daryl._

_Don’t turn my stomach, Rick. Jesus._

_Then_ get off _the phone._

_I’ll text you t’ address. Nine? Yeah? Beth?_

Blinking, she nods quickly, having tuned out with their voices in the background.

_Nine._

_Get lost already._

Daryl flicks his phone onto the coffee table and cuddles Beth’s nude body closer. “Greene?”

“Mmm,” she mumbles, face pressed to his bare chest. “Y’gonna be my girl already?”

A grin steals her mouth so fast it physically aches. “So that’s why you wanna help, huh? Comin' to my house an’ pickin’ up my stuff…Meetin' my parents.”

She was teasing, but Daryl’s voice is serious when he rasps back, “s’that what you want?” His breath stirring her hair at the temple.

Swallowing, Beth whispers, “f’I did, what’d that make you?” A large part of her just wants him to say it aloud as she raises her eyes to his.

Casual, so causal, he rolls his shoulder but his eyes are piercing. “Yours.”

She has to bite her lower lip to stop her face splitting. “One condition.”

“S'that then?” He grunts with an amused smile.

“We have a ship name.” She grins back, her stomach soaring with butterflies.

Both eyebrows cock up on his forehead. “The fuck’s that?”

“Y'know, like when you watch a show an' you want two people to get together. You ‘ship’ them.” Beth explains patiently, a hot flush taking her cheeks.

“You're into some weird shit, Greene.” Daryl teases her, his fingers sliding down her spine in a caress.

Lightly smacking his chest, she lifts her head to fake glare. “C'mon, indulge me.”

“Don't I fuckin' always?” He shoots back with a smirk.

Beth rolls her eyes, lightly pinching his side until he jerks. “I was thinkin' Deth.”

“ _Death_?” He repeats with disgusted infliction, fingers halting on her lower spine. “Shit, girl, you're morbid.”

“ _God_ ,” she laughs. “You mash up names. Daryl an' Beth...” She shrugs. “Deth.”

“Why not Baryl? Beth an' Daryl,” he mutters, seeming to be giving real thought to this now.

Resting her head in her hand, she continues to trace his chest with her finger, drawing music notes. “They both suck. We need somethin’ cute.”

“Do we?” He grumbles. “Nothin' cute ‘bout how much I wanna fuck you right now.” The hand on her lower back slides to her ass, palming it as squeezing so she's dragged up his body.

Breath catching in her throat, Beth barely has time to glance at him before Daryl steals her mouth into a kiss. She falls against the back of the sofa under his weight, her legs wrapping around his waist.

Pulling away, he strokes his hands down her bare thighs. “What ‘bout Bethyl? S'cute when it's all you an’ a bit of me.”

A grin physically hurts her cheeks at that, one that transfers to Daryl's face too. “So...” A blush stains her cheeks but she follows through on her original thought. “Y'gonna fuck me again?”

Daryl’s eyes sparkle with gritty lust. “Y’know I love it when y'talk dirty, Greene.”


End file.
